>this was a problem that was actively ignored/swept under the rug for some time. I agree and it is because of this that makes the whole thing justified. Yet, its almost impossible to know where a company/product will go in the future. If iPhones started exploding in people's pockets, I wouldn't feel the need to sue Apple because I couldnt resell my phone at the price I wanted. Granted, a faulty car against a cell phone is kind of apples to oranges, but the point is the same.
I'm not convinced that point is really the same, though. I believe the court would look at this in terms of what the customer would expect--and cars, more often than not, are resold before their usable life ends. Phones, not so much--that secondary market is more or less for people who would buy a new phone regardless of what value they got for their old one. Vehicle owners would be far more prohibited from purchasing a new vehicle without the ability to trade in their cars at a rate that fits a normal depreciation curve. I'm not an attorney so I'd be interested to hear a more educated perspective on this.