What are some products you remember as being awesome back in the day, that you steer clear from and why?
There could be various reasons.
Quality has gone down, taste different, too expensive, product has shrunk in size.
Mine is a very personal one, Carmel Snack Packs- those were the bomb, I could eat 6 in one sitting. Then they released this ghastly new and "improved" version. Was never the same, and not surprisingly that flavour is not on the shelves anymore.
Most Honda cars and bikes aren't up to the quality of 20-30 years ago. The new NSX is one exception, though. They desperately needed a flagship.
When they still churned out automotive excellence, Honda could afford to be sentimental…
CRX - acronym; Civic Renaissance X. Marked ten years since first Civic launch.
S2000 - spiritual successor to the 60s S roadsters. Also marked their 50th anniversary.
Goldwing - always consistently great.
Honda's bikes have always been of a high build quality. Even the cheapies - the Thai built CBR300R and CBR500R are very well put-together bikes. And their CBR600RR and CBR1000RR are as good as they have ever been.
I agree about their cars though.
C'mon man. The bikes are nowhere near as good as 20+ years ago!
The very same reasons their cars are only "average - above-average" where they used to be "very good - excellent" affects all product divisions.
Those reasons can be traced to the proliferation of choice from the emerging Asian economies of South Korea, Thailand and China. They might not be as good as Japanese, but they forced them into a game of mediocrity. Yet they still barely compete on price.
The VFR800 and VFR1200 are great. But what about the CBR250? The old MC22 4-cyl version was a bit of a masterpiece. Now they serve up a 250 single plastered in crappy plastic to hide the shame. That's devolution.
They say it's to appeal to novice riders? But they also had the CB250 single for that.
Considering they don't develop two-stroke road bikes, you'd think they could excel at making a really good small four-stroke.
The old NC30/35 VFR/RVF400s were little gems too. Amazing engineering from Honda and they were reasonably affordable. Not now; their second-hand prices are insane because you only have to compare a new LAMs offering to one of those. Dealers and owners know this.
We won't be seeing their kind again, unless you're willing to spend big for a Ducati or similar.
I think we need to compare these bikes in the contexts of their original market. The CBR250, 300 and 500 are cheap LAMS bikes that eclipse a lot of what else is available for around the same price ($5000 to $7000 new) - the old CBR250RRs were wonderful bikes (and the fact they are still so sought after is testament to that) but they were a lot more expensive.
The CB400 is a really wonderfully built and put-together motorbike and that is what I would more readily compare to the CBR250RRs of yester-year.
If Honda could build a CBR250RR that fit within modern emissions regulations, they would (and in fact, there are lots of rumours going around that Honda, Kawasaki and a few others are planning on re-making a modern 4cyl 250cc for the Indonesian market). When they do release it, it'll be a ripper, but it won't cost as much as the old CBR250RRs did and will not be built to quite the same level as before.
However, I don't think this is sufficient to tarnish Honda with the "they aren't as good as they used to be" brush!
I'm not a Honda fanboy by any stretch but I think they are still kicking huge goals for us motorcyclists.
I miss my VFR750 :(
It's not that the quality has dropped- its stayed the same, well screwed together
More to do with rivals simply leapfrogging then overall quality, pricing and desirability.
Case in point- Mazda
I remember shopping for a new car in the early 2000s and someone suggested looking at Mazdas. The Mazda Astina was a very average looking Home Brand kind of generic vehicle. Then Mazda released the 3. Everything changed. A desirable car with good looks, quality, and well priced. Mazda sold a bucket load every month and the car often challenged Commodores and Falcons for top spot in monthly sales figures.
Honda cars certainly aren't what they once where, they used to be knocking on the door of the premium brands, these days they are a budget brand again. But BMW cars are not what they used to be, they tried to copy Mercedes, and basically produced inferior products. BMW used to be high strung, high revving and had amazing feedback and handling. These days they are low revving and turbo charged, but not producing nearly as much torque or power as Audi or Mercedes, and they have gone with vague electric steering. Hell they even have a 3 cylinder front wheel drive now, an anti-BMW BMW.
BMW and Mercedes used to have a great image and prestige quality to the brands. Then Daimler-Chrysler noticed Volkswagen was selling a boat load of Golfs and decided to get in on the action with the A-Class. BMW noticed the success of the A-Class and started expanding its range with mediocre cars like the 1 Series.
Both brands enjoyed more sales by pricing vehicles within range of the Common Man, but as a result suffered in terms in quality, design, and image. All things Mercedes and BMW once held dear. You'll still hear people who have never owned a cheap Mercedes or BMW pine about what fantastic cars they are. Others know the truth and after being burnt won't pay $40k for a car with the same build quality as a $25k Mazda.
Prices have gone down heaps, $80k used to buy a C240 ~13 years ago with pretty much no options. $80k will now get you a C250 fairly loaded with option packs added.
BMW noticed the success of the A-Class and started expanding its range with mediocre cars like the 1 Series.
I don't think mediocre is the right word to describe any BMW. They expanded to fill an up and coming market that they previouly only had the compact 3 series for. They lowered the price overall to gain more market percentage and added features that would otherwise be standard on other series cars as extras.
Every car brand does this.
The 130i, twin turbo 135i and the 1M are all fantastic examples of BMW quality, design and image.
BMW has filled a nice niches between crap 20k cars and luxury.
The "premium Airplane seats" of car is what is most desireable by the middle class. As its affordable with a touch luxury
The new NSX is one exception, though
The new NSX has not even been released! How on earth can you comment on the build quality? Do you even know it is made in the USA? lol
Do you even know it is made in the USA? lol
So are Teslas. They're kicking major goals.
So you don't think the NSX will be Honda's flagship?
What exactly is your point?
Might be interesting to know that Honda currently recalling about 33000 cars in Aust due to a known problem where the car airbags, if triggered, would eject metal shards at the unlucky occupants of the vehicle. At least 4 automotive related deaths in the US have been linked to this problem…
Sauces:
http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/honda-recalls-33000-cars-…
http://blog.caranddriver.com/honda-adds-3-million-vehicles-t…
That's a new meaning to riding shotgun…
Discount Diluted Morning Fresh
Did you used to use it to shower, however find that since they started to water it down it wasn't as economical anymore and that soap (and less dermatological problems) were a better option?
All Morning Fresh products are now rubbish since they moved production from Australia to Indonesia.
And they have Super Concentrate on the label still… that some marketing.
Now the liquid just pour outs instead of oozing out due to the thickness.
Grain Waves chips, before they were bought by Smiths, you got a lot more per bag for a cheaper price and much tastier without the abundant of artifical flavouring they've now added.
Smiths got in at the right time to buy them out, they were beginning to boom. I'd say if a competitor took over and marketed them right they would of smashed Smiths/chips industry
Large packets of chips that used to be 200g and are now 175g. Medium from 100g to 90g. Small packet from 50g to 45g. Ridiculous. And no - don't try to tell us you're market research tells you we want smaller sizes because we are becoming more "snack wise" while really just trying to increase your margins by 12.5% in the case of large packs. Then - you go and release "MAXX" chips which are 200g, but try and charge a ridiculous RRP for them? Only a fool would pay full price for them. Hopefully, one day mainstream chip manufactures will work out it pisses us off when you screw with our packet sizes. Same said for any other product. Props to some manufactures who are still doing the 200g packets and making a good product - Aldi deli chips come to mind. Some other small brands also do some. Check them out.
Adli Chips are made by Smiths in Canning Vale :) I know a lady that works there….
Well !!!!
Good to know. Thanks.
Cascade tried 'right sizing' their beer bottles from 375ml to 355ml because 'it was a European size' and 'customers have told us they want the smaller size'. Fortunately, customers were immune to the utter bullshit being fed by the CEO and marketing team. Sales collapsed, and Cascade was forced to 'wrong size' the bottle back to 375ml.
Poor Cascade Premium - what once was a flagship brew has been messed with so many times:
1)2006-7 Beer alcohol changed from 5.2% to 5%. Same Price.
2)2008 - As described above, except the size went from 375 to 330ml (not 355ml). That's 1.08 litres less of beer per 24 Carton, or nearly 3 less bottles. Same price.
3)2009 - Revert back to 375ml bottles after more than halving their sales. Sales do not recover.
4)2013 - Brand bought out by CCA beverages.
5)2013 - reboot of Cascade Premium as a 4.5% "craft-style presentation" beer, sold in 4 packs or 16 bottle cases.
By the end of 2013, a 'case' of cascade premium was being sold with 19.2 standard drinks in it for $45, compared to a case in 2006 which contained 37.5 standard drinks at the same price (from memory). Oh, and did I mention they changed the taste as well?
If it seems I have a gripe on this stuff, it's because they keep messing with my Dad's favourite beer. One day I'll be an old man, and I don't want no-one messing with my favourite drink.
I had no idea. I used to enjoy the occasional Cascade. No way would I buy one now. Stupid idiots!
They need to get rid of automatic excise increases on beer.
Pizza Shapes, there's no longer "flavour you can see" on the biscuits or at the bottom of the box when you're finished.
Burger Rings, they seem to be so bland now days.
Also, Cadbury chocolate has gone to the dogs now. They've removed a lot of cocoa and replaced it with sugar.
I miss the intense flavour at the bottom of the box experience.
Yep, I remember seeing little "chunks" of that wonderful seasoning, but now it's pretty much just powder :-(
Happy it's about the only "shapes" variety that has no MSG.
Just remembered how good Red Rooster chips used to be 15 years ago……
Is it just Cairns or does every Red Rooster put their chips in a cardboard box and then make it airtight by using grease proof paper which makes the chips soggy? Half the time they then put it in a plastic bag and put the chicken in the paper bag.
eBay for private sellers. I really enjoyed selling old stuff on ebay and browsing through categories in the early 2000s. Now it's too expensive for private sellers and I only buy there when I want cheap products from Hong Kong.
Totally agree
I rarely use ebay now. They ruined it. Time after time after time. Every new "improvement" was just ridiculous. I was searching for guitars on there the other day… There were hundreds of guitars - new - from the same shop - the same model, I'm sitting there just spinning the mouse wheel. I gave up and closed the browser.
Even then.. AliExpress is cheaper than eBay for buying cheap Chinese stuff.
Kettles chilli flavoured chips! There was a time when it was just chips with salt, a few spices and chilli. These days there's more random seasonings than chilli. The garlic flavour overpowers the chilli too much now.
Kettle Herb and Spice flavour. I used to eat a pack every day in the 90s. absolutely loved them.
Oh the memories!
agreed!
remember when smith's use to have chilli chips, that was awesome too!
the Kettles chilli had real heat in them back then. I found them almost inedible. just too spicy. fantastic.
I loved the spice as well, however, I have a feeling there were many more customers who complained that it was "just too spicy"… ironic, considering the flavour is Chilli.
Chicko Rolls, absolute rubbish, awful taste, nothing like the original 1955 Chicko Rolls.
I think I had one of those 1955 ones at the take away hot box last week.
Monte Carlo buscuits and Wagon Wheels. The 'jam' portion of both looks like a light coat of red food colour, with no taste what so ever. And I think giant wagon wheels are much smaller now, it's been a while since I've had one.
U2. Since you know, Zooropa.
Let's have a Numb VHS single party.
Darth Vader. Was an evil guy.
Later found to be a gullible whiny boy with mommy issues.
NoooOOOooooOOOoooooo
Canned Tuna.
I remember the good old days when John West tuna was made in Australia and Sirena Tuna was made in Italy. These days it is all China or Thailand. Worse yet, the tuna to other ingredient ratio is getting smaller. Worse yet the quality of these products is non-existent by the looks of it!
I am a recent fan of Sirena tuna for about a year now. Don't bag Sirena tuna bro!
Sirena doesn't even say what type of tuna is in the tin - they have it marked as the species tuna ( any tuna, yellow tail, skipjack, anything they can get) other brands say the type of tuna at least.
Scaffold is the best, line caught and the most % of tuna in the tin. Green seas and John west have the smallest amount, about 55% all because the govt relaxed the rules as to how much has to be in a tin.
True
I walked out of Coles when they only had prawns from China available. I don't trust or see why fish has to be imported from so far away.
Oh and did I mention pollution?
Amen. I also fail to see why, driving up and down the East Coast of Australia, you are hard-pressed to buy local seafood in a town's Fisherman's co-op nowadays. 25 years ago, that's ALL you could get. All that fuel and pollution to sell you something from OS that can be caught 10kms away for $5 more a kilo?
Heresy to say it on this site, but it ain't all about the $$$.
mattew evans/the gourmet farmer did a part doco on OS prawn farming, worth watching.
coles at Noosa has lots of fresh Aussie seafood, woolies as well. yes there is import stuff as well but it is marked.
Yep, country of origin must be stated on all fresh seafood now. Did coles at Noosa sell fish or seafood CAUGHT at Noosa though? That's what I'm lamenting.
@carwashhair:
Ahh, I have no idea.
A cousin used to have a fishing boat licence and used to sell to the supermarkets (don't think Coles and was before Woolies was around at Noosa) but has not been in the game for quite a while now.
I guess one reason why stuff isnt all local is people want choice, they don't just want the local fish. You can still buy off the trawlers on the Gold Coast here.
I have noticed Coles have some local stuff like milk, cheese and other goods that I don't see at the Coles here on the Gold Coast.
To be honest , whether its local doesn't bother me so much, I don't expect local grown vegies either. Sure the idea is good but pricing would be all over the place - some with cheap seafood cos theres lots, others super expensive cos only one bucket of prawns came in. As long as it isnt imported fruit/vegies/meat and seafood, I don't see any reason to buy o/s fresh food (and it isnt cheap a lot of the time)
Battlefield
CoD
Police
I know it's already been mentioned earlier in the thread, but I also have to say that KFC is a pale imitation of what we used to get back in the 1980's from Kentucky Fried Chicken when you could truly taste the herbs and spices.
They changed the oil from animal fat to plant based. That's what happened. I remember the day when I was working and we swapped. It's just not as tasty, management completely forgot that people don't go to KFC for health food.
I've seen a small baggin on Toobs and Burger Rings ??
i reckon they're both as good as they were 20 years ago.
…..and both rip the sheeeet outta my mouth, as I usually polish of the largest size possible by myself :)
Love em both still :)
OP, I think you mean "a shadow of its former self".
Anyway, Dunlop Volleys used to be grippy and durable. Now they're made from crappy materials and fall apart.
I'd love to have a pair of runners that would last for more than a year.
I have several.
The trick is to never leave the house. They stay brand new forever.
Shopping at bunnings use to be cool, heaps of workers and they were actually helpful, knew where things were and able to off good advice. Now I struggle to find a staff member and service is meh. Now I just go there for the sausages
Are the sausages a shadow of its former self too?
Too busy filming commercials.
I have to disagree with this one, although I was never much of a Bunnings person before I started my reno on my house recently. I have been to Bunnings and Masters so many times lately and I much prefer Bunnings because the staff that I have met were really helpful, especially the carpet section and the tool shop. YMMV depending on where you live, I guess.
The atmosphere at Masters is a little depressing, I am not sure if it is the people or the corporate culture.
pretty much any product thats been on the market longer than 6 months! Everything seems to be getting worse and worse the longer the product stays on the shelf or the company stays afloat!
The new "energised" Mountain Dew it is horrible. The old Mountain Dew tasted really good and i used to get it all the time when i want to KFC. Now i never touch it.
I agree. I remember people campaigning for KFC to get the "real" Mountain Dew, which has caffeine. It tastes weird and slightly bitter to me. It tasted more like candy previously, haha!
Xbox
I'd like this reversed. Average products that you now deem excellent.
This is just bringing out the depressing element in everyone.
Make a thread :)
my antidepressants seem to be working better than ever!!
My antidepressants have a warning of increased suicide risk. As most do.
How depressing.
May I suggest Headspace? Its a mindfulness app. Studies have found that mindfulness meditation can cut the recurrence of depression by 50%, and neuroimaging scans have shown significant positive change in brain activity of long-term meditators.
Edit: I've started practicing MBCT (mindfulness-based cognitive therapy) when I was diagnosed with post natal depression, about 4 years ago.
It has helped me develop a whole new relationship with my thoughts. They didn't change, but I could see that they were simply that: thoughts. I did not have to judge them, act on them or indeed do anything very much about them. Sometimes they were interesting, sometimes less so, but they were no more than "events" that arose in my mind and then dispersed again. They did not, as I'd previously imagined, have the power to undo me. I did not have to fear them anymore or fear that I would act on them.
Only someone who has suffered from depression or chronic anxiety will understand quite how exhilarating this realisation felt. MBCT has helped me make peace with the workings of my mind, something that anti-depressants could never have done.
Apparently antidepressants make it harder to orgasm… I'd be suicidal too if that was the case
Might be worthwhile checking out this woman's quest to orgasm whilst on antidepressants:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/30/orgasm-antidepressa…
@Serapis: Not all antidepressants cause anorgasmia. Also, the same antidepressant may cause it in one person but not another person, etc etc. You don't always get the same side effects across all consumers. Kinda lucky (or unlucky) in that way, I suppose.
Hence it is a matter of trial and error when going onto medications like this… anyone who is on, or has been on antidepressants will most likely be familiar with the often frustrating process of trying out different antidepressants to find the right one which suits them, because there are loads out there, and there is no perfect magic pill since everyone does respond differently. I've known people who had tried the same tablet I take, and had sexual side effects. I've been on this drug for years now and have no troubles at all :) Though I've been on many different antidepressants in the past too and could list a couple that DID give me that side effect - wasn't pleasant.
FWIW (and this isn't directed at you Serapis! just anyone who may be reading this), meds should never be regarded as a quick fix to depression. Meds are great if you find the right ones that help take the edge off, just enough to allow you to push through… and therapy/counselling etc should be the main source of help and support you should have. Antidepressants for me are crucial - without them, therapy wouldn't have much impact… my brain wouldn't function enough to absorb any of it, I wouldn't be rational or clear minded enough to appreciate new ways of thinking. So the drugs help - but alone, they won't cure you. They might do 5-10% of the work, if that, but the rest is up to you… and it can be hard work. Actually, no. It will be hard work. The brain doesn't change itself. But it can be changed.
Complete tangent there, sorry :P My initial post was totally meant to be facetious/jokey… dark humour, sorry. But I worry if anyone happens to lurk around here and reads this, and might be in a dark place, and might be considering medication or other forms of help, but doesn't understand or know much… I should probably write things more clearly rather than leave it all open ended as a piss-take. Mental health isn't a joke, in the end. Even though I do love to joke about it in a self deprecating way. lol
Apologies for the long post.
The pills sound a lot like Panadol…
No apology needed + i think i owe you some form of courtesy of a reply, my 2 lined comment which I kinda repeated from what someone else told me seemed to have dug up something more personal but completely agree with you (I myself don't have issues with depression but know someone that does.)
Really glad that you're actually able to open up on your problems because it shows that you're strong and your counselling has helped, some people have tendency to shy away from their problems and hide it, which becomes sort of self-destructive…
Tap water
Lucky Goldstar —> LG. Life's Good.
Yes Goldstar was one of the nastiest brands of the 80's. The Miracle of re-branding. The masses fall for it over and over.
It's healthy to have a nostalgic whinge about Kettle chips and pizza shapes once in a while :)
Mobile phones.
Blizzard and EA games.
The plummet in product quality is rage inducing.
I waited a long time for Diablo 3, only to be incredibly disappointed. Recently I bought the expansion and tried to give it another chance. It was dull watching my damage scale from hundreds into in the tens of millions, and there is at least half a dozen different scalable difficulty settings.
Its as though Blizzard spent too much of its development trying to make the game last 1000 hours without getting the basic gameplay and content variety right (stats automatically distributed, can change skills on a whim, etc.).
Project was lead by a guy that thought "Diablo 2 wasn't really that fun".
He's the only guy that managed to kill Diablo in real life.
More stupid quotes from him here: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/7709120938
PC games in some ways are getting worse. Instead of being developed for a PC with its superior controls & mouse + potentially better specs, they are dummed down for consoles. No modding capabilities, no standalone servers, poor UIs, no useful hotkeys, Press Button x to start on the loadscreen, no graphical customization options, fixed resolution (eg Final fantasy XIII)…
Maggi noodles! Damn it used to be so good with all that msg.
Indome ftw
Myspace
Bought a pack yesterday, 11 in a regular packet, 9 in the caramel/double choc ones.