Are lawnmowers built worse than 20 years ago?

i have a 10 year old craftsman push mower, i cut my yard which is fairly large maybe once every 2 weeks. it has a tecumseh 4.25HP engine on it. it works well for me, maybe changed the oil once so far, and air filters twice a season because i have some dirt patches in my yard.

i have to pump the primer like 4 times before it will light off, always did this from day one. every time after i mow i pull the spark plug wire off, lay the mower on its side, and scrape the mower deck out with a steel paint scraper, then i rinse the deck out with my garden hose to clean out the rest. the mower deck is solid, only a little surface rust from bare metal. i credit that to my scraping it out and cleaning it before putting it away.

the engine doesnt smoke, or use oil sure it boggs down a little if running it in high grass, but its only 4.25 HP after all. you shouldent let your grass get too high anyways, its not good for the grass, plus it makes it harder to push the mower LOL.

i heard briggs went to ****. they sold out to the red chinese. they are no longer made in kenosha wisconsin anymore. not sure where my tecumseh is made but its a good mower for a push type.

just my .02
matt