That's survivor bias. Old things that are still around are the ones that were well-made.
Contractor here...I have removed countless old appliances from the 60s and 70s that were in daily use, working just fine, but the owner wanted shiny new shit that might work 2-3 years. I see it all the time.
New appliances cause a lot more stress on parts to achieve greater effectiveness. Working on the limit of what your parts are able to withstand and produce will lead to earlier failure.
Also, current fridges are comparatively way cheaper. The 1952 Coldspot Refrigirator was sold for $329, or $3,242 in today's money. You can get way cheaper fridges today.
Cheaper...because they are not as well-built, yes. My neighbor has one of these in his garage http://cf.collectorsweekly.com/stories/u6R8W7KkAOlbFjDwbI4LzA.jpg
it works fine.
That was before jew-owned corporations came up with the programmed obsolescence idea to get more shekels out of the goyim.
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