This sort of thing didn't originate with EMPI. Both my brother and I had Ford Pintos for a while in college and the cheap pot metal window winders, door handles, and sun visor brackets in both of them broke regularly. I think we replaced all of them in both cars at least once. I sold mine after 18 months while he held onto his for years. I think all of those parts were broken in his when he sold it. The amount of cost cutting Ford did with those cars was criminal.