@Dwayne B posted:The quality of Lionel was unsurpassed. A far cry from what corporate America is today.
Dwayne,
I can't possibly let this pass without challenging your statement. You clearly do not remember how poor in general that American quality had become by the late 70's.
You're correct that JLC's quality in his time was better, and in many cases much better than that, but it was the Japanese quality movement 1955-1990 that kicked our butt and got us back on track.
When we relearned how to compete from them, which was a long an painful process in itself, we met and then clearly exceeded the the quality level you speak so fondly of.
Quality control has been the heart of my entire career, which is rapidly drawing to a close as I near retirement, first in traditional product, then in software, and most recently in safety critical software. Speaking of glory days, there's no question in my mind that late 1990's and beyond were the return-to-glory that the USA frittered away as the 50's become the 60's and then the 70's.
Yes the manufacturing business, including the stuff we enjoy in our hobby, has nearly all moved to China, but it isn't because our quality was poor.
There's one absolutely stunning example of why what I say is true, and you may disagree with me if you like: Automobiles presently on the road, of nearly all kinds including all American brands, are now an average of 13 years old and still soldiering on.
Q: How long did the average car last in 1955?
Yes JLC was good at what he did, and very was important for the hobby and the U.S.
And yes, recently Lionel's quality has apparently slipped, particularly with the high-end stuff.
But it's not because no one knows how to fix it. There are plenty of us out there who were well trained in just how to do it -- in those 1990s glory days.
Mike
