@Hoss @gentoobro @r000t All tires have date codes stamped on them. If an unused tire is 10yrs+ old you shouldn't use it. Doesn't matter if it's NOS. The rubber goes bad & it dry rots. Don't trust your vehicle & life with it.

The real issue is automobile owners used to all be mechanically inclined to a degree. Owners were hobbyists, enthusiasts, or had people in their lives who were. All of them worked on their own vehicles & general maintenance & visual inspections of the running gear & suspension were extremely common.

The Japanese cars of the late 80's-90's were so reliable when combined with modern convenience culture have completely eroded casual do-it-yourself culture.

Not only do most people not know how to change a tire / have a spare? But they don't even check tire pressure without a light from a tpms or totally flat. A few psi low or high can affect gas mileage & tire longevity.

Nobody checks oil levels unless there's an issue. Nobody looks under the radiator cap, checks along the block, intake manifold, or transmission for signs of leaks, checks brakes, corrosion of unibody/underside etc.

Hell nobody services a diff pre-emptively. They just wait for failure. The big issue isn't a lack of education. The information has been out since the release of the automobile. It just nobody cares, they wait for something to fail and have zero interest.