For Christmas last year my son Kevin received a vintage 1950s General Electric toaster as a gift from his grandmother.
It is the very same toaster I grew up with as a kid, and I was surprised to see it still around and in such great shape.
It still works perfectly; the chrome finish still glistens, and aside from a small chip in the Bakelite (from one of the many times me or one of my brothers knocked it to the floor) this thing looks good as new.
This is certainly a testament to how well things were once made.
I remain optimistic that an appreciation for this level of quality is going to come back to America.