[mildchalupa]

Here's an example, before WWII brake lines were made out of Monel, a corrosion proof material aside from galvanic. Nickel and copper being expensive and needed elsewhere the lines were made then made from painted steel. After the war steel lines became the standard.

The cost difference is small but it's indicative of a larger issue of disposability. One of the reasons Japanese vehicles started to dominate was that they lasted longer. This is due to better tolerances, more efficient engines, and more robust component design.

The Toyota production method, lean and just-in-time were mostly methods for rationalizing better systems to eliminate waste within production and to minimize inventory. Such methods don't inherently make a better car though they leave more io the table to spend on coatings, quality parts etc.

[zer00eyz]

Japan, Toyota Production System (TPS) is a merger of culture and the work of William Edwards Deming.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Edwards_Deming

The wiki has this line that sums it all up perfectly:

In 1982, Deming's book Quality, Productivity, and Competitive Position was published by the MIT Center for Advanced Engineering, and was renamed Out of the Crisis in 1986. In it, he offers a theory of management based on his famous 14 Points for Management. Management's failure to plan for the future brings about loss of market, which brings about loss of jobs. Management must be judged not only by the quarterly dividend, but also by innovative plans to stay in business, protect investment, ensure future dividends, and provide more jobs through improved products and services. "Long-term commitment to new learning and new philosophy is required of any management that seeks transformation. The timid and the fainthearted, and the people that expect quick results, are doomed to disappointment."