Phaedrus/69
Member
What new and current models do you feel will be still offered in the future???
Anything currently being introduced as truly new however - I feel the vast majority if not all new models are the product of ballistic paper-doll motivations and given the changing whims driving them, speaks to realitviely short lives.
Manufacturers no longer have to make the epic commitment to *tool-up* for most modern guns and therefore their own investment in their longevity is waning rapidly.
I think Todd is pretty close to the mark. In the past we had distinct handgun models; the 1911, the BHP, the Colt Trooper, etc. I think in the future it will be more product lines with "model years" like cars, speakers or phones. Whether by design or just luck Glock has been on this train for years with gen after gen of "perfection". Madison Avenue has convinced consumers that the only viable path to satisfaction is to have the latest and greatest. You have an iPhone two gens old? How gauche! How tacky! Are you a poor? With the bulk of the firearm being molded polymer it's pretty easy to make changes, especially with the lower grade of plastics used in most pistols now and the lack of expectation that you'll still be using it in five or ten years. The heart of the gun, provided they're still steel and constructed as we do presently, will maybe stay pretty much the same from gen to gen to manage costs. Even now you can buy custom frames in different shapes, sizes and colors to drop "the gun" or subframe into. This will probably become more popular as time goes by.
So no, outside of the shrinking Fudd Gun World we'll probably see model lines (eg Camaro or Corvette) with model years or manufacturing generations. It seems unlikely that the bigger companies will continue to make the exact same model, unchanged from year to year for decades at a time. People will be chasing the new and guns will become systems/platforms to conform with current fashion trends. This will be especially true for the Tactical Man-bun Squad that seems to drive the industry now.