Yes, I have to agree. There's no question, that manufacturers have cut quality, to be sure products don't last to long.
I had a Sony large screen LCD TV. It quit working after 17 months. My previous TV's were the old fashioned CRT types, but guess what....................they all lasted 20+ years. The Sony was expensive at $2000.00, and of course it only had a 12 month warranty, which is standard for electronic items. There is some good news here. I bought the Sony TV with my mastercard, which doubles the Sony warranty to 2 years. Mastercard sent me a cheque for $2000.00.
Another example. I had a Motorola microwave oven for 22 years. It was old and to large to fit in our new kitchen, so I took it to the recycle depot, even though it was still working fine. I bought a new Panosonic microwave and it quit working at around 25 months. It was out of warranty.
The washing machine, we now use is 21 years old. Its a Kenmore (Sears), and works great. I know it going to fail any day now. I also know that the next washing machine I buy, will likely only last 7 to 10 years.
My advice is to buy the best quality you can afford, and use a credit card, so that your typical 1 year warranty will be doubled to 2 years. That will protect you for any early failure such as happened with my Sony TV. You can also buy extra insurance from stores such as Best Buy. The cost of the insurance is much higher than it should be, and Best Buy loves it when you buy it, because it generates big profit for them.
Through the years, I have owned GM and Ford products. They were poorly assembled and parts such as starter motors, alternators, brakes, etc. were of poor quality and wore out quickly. I learned my lesson, and now drive a Toyota Camry. It's by far the best car I have ever owned. You can feel the quality when you drive it, and after 8 years, there has been no need to replace any parts, except for tires. My Camry was made in Kentucky, so thanks to the Kentucky lads for building a great product.