Over the years cars have become more reliable and need less maintenance and repairs. When was the last time a car needed a "tune-up" with all the associated parts - spark plugs, points, condenser, rotor, rotor cap, spark plug wires, etc. None of our vehicles in the past 20 years! Hence, no need to buy those parts.
Similarly cars have been more reliable over the years.
Sure, some people still do their own repairs but as the article stated who goes to a brick and mortar parts store anymore? Hell, who goes to a brick and mortar audio store these days? Hell, who reads paper audio rags anymore?!! To be fair, I have a couple paper audio rags that I still subscribe to, mostly for the pictures and a quick glance at what's new. I'll skim the pages in 20 minutes then throw them out.
