That may be true. However, car manufacturers in the past clearly assumed and expected a higher degree of intelligence and maturity from their customers. The owner's manual for a 1965 Chevrolet Chevy II provides troubleshooting tips for the fuel system: Nowhere does it tell you not to drink the gasoline that may have sprayed into the cup. Nor does it tell you not to aim the fuel line towards your eyes.
I´m from that generation, yet I don´t miss setting up carburators. Especially if you have to synchronize, say 3 carbs on a 6-cylinder (Alfa Romeo) inline engine. It´s sorta empiric, can take the whole day, you won´t get equal setup on different cars ...... well, a major pita. And I´ve witnessed mechanics who got acid from an exploding battery straight into their faces because they used a 27mm wrench to perform the "sparking charge test" on that poor battery. Not a pleasant picture. Point being: There´re idiots in every generation. And for a more cynical view: The world population has more than doubled since then, therefore .........
