Yah, I hear you. I agree something seems to have changed there. The fridge in my last place was literally 70 years old (it was a Ford Philco, no joke). It still worked, but it was inefficient and not very big so we had to replace it. The one we replaced it with lasted five years. 
You used to get thirty years out of a water heater, now you’re lucky to get ten. I don’t know what’s up with appliances but they are on a bad road.
At least part of this must be down to consolidation. When I was shopping for a new washing machine, I downloaded the manuals for half a dozen brands to compare features in detail. I noticed whole sections of the manuals were word-for-word the same. That seemed suspicious so I googled the companies, and turns out all the major brands in that segment are now owned by the same company. They’re all the same washer, basically. 
