As to quality of cars and trucks and longevity, absolutely far better then it used to be compared to mid 80's and back.
By late 90's, cars were going big miles without major issues. Those were still decent to work on. (some exceptions)
Problem with modern cars is a DIYer can't do a lot (except for Ray
) and the electronics can be expensive to fix and hard to diagnose.
In some ways the pendulum is swinging the other way as it always does.
What I like about modern cars,
Power, no shortage of HP
Braking, 4 wheel disc are great
Navigation built in
What I don't like about modern cars
Trucks are too damn high
Low profile tires are expensive and don't ride as well
Complicated electronics
NON GREASABLE STEERING COMPONENTS