Planned obsolescence is too much a part of consumer culture to be eradicated by law enforcement. Indeed, it’s a venerable tradition. In 1955, Harley Earl, the first designated head of design at General Motors (and arguably one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century), explained that his designs weren’t intended to be timeless: Our big job is to hasten obsolescence. In 1934 the average car ownership span was 5 years: now [1955] it is 2 years. When it is 1 year, we will have a perfect score.4 Earl was mostly successful. During the middle decades of the twentieth century,
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