History Main / TheWorkhorse

* The original Land Rover, a 4x4 designed to replace the original Jeep in 1948. Equally if not more successful as a civilian utility vehicle, it would stay in production with relatively minor external revisions until 2018, when it was reluctantly phased out due to a lack of safety features. Licensed production continues overseas, and hundreds of thousands of all marks of [[AffectionateNickname Landy]] are still running decades later.

Compare OlderIsBetter.

** The STK-3F ''Stalker'' is noted to be one InUniverse, with even its marketing campaign based on the fact. With an almost 600-year old production history in the Inner Sphere and consisting entirely of low-tech, easy-to-replicate technologies that made it extremely easy to maintain and repair damaged Stalkers. By the numbers, Stalkers were most likely the single most common assault-class 'mech in the Inner Sphere at the end of the Third Succession War, with some numbers suggesting Stalker models made up over a third of the total number of Inner Sphere assaults on its own.

** The STK-3F ''Stalker'' is noted to be one InUniverse, with even its marketing campaign based on the fact. With an almost 600-year old production history in the Inner Sphere and consisting entirely of low-tech, easy-to-replicate technologies that made it extremely easy to maintain and repair damaged Stalkers, headcounts based on the lore indicate that by the end of the Third Succession War there were probably more Stalkers active in the Inner Sphere than of almost every other model of Inner Sphere Assault 'mech (excepting the Banshee) ''combined''.

* ''Tabletopgame/BattleTech'' has many [[HumongousMecha BattleMech]] models which have seen service for [[ForeverWar centuries of warfare]] (and sometimes, the [[AncestralWeapon individual mechs have seen centuries of combat]]). The [[MightyGlacier Atlas]] is one of the [[SkeleBot9000 most recognizable mechs]], and has seen continued use and upgrades for almost four hundred years. On the other handa, most of the modernized workhorses are only externally similar to their originals; an original production [=AS7-D=] Atlas (2755), for example, shares very few internal components with the more modern [=AS7-K=] Atlas (3050), which carries a completely different fusion reactor design and weapons (dropping the short-ranged Autocannon in favor of a long-ranged [[MagneticWeapon Gauss Rifle]], for example), though it does share the same combat roles - [[FrontlineGeneral frontline command]] and [[TheDreaded intimidation]]. And that four hundred year service history? That's pretty unimpressive compared to a few other mechs like the Banshee or Wasp, which have both been in continual use (and in the case of the Wasp, continual production) for close to 700 years.

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* Warhammer 40K Universe is filled with long-service vehicles and tech. Some maintenance is required, but most gear used by the Imperium of Man dates back decades if not thousands of years. These can range anywhere from regular bolter firearms to power fists, imperial star ships and Dreadnought chassis, which in turn house some of the oldest living members of the Space Marine chapters.

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* The Soyuz rocket and capsule design were first introduced in 1966 and both are still in active service. The Soyuz rocket design has flown more than 1700 times, making it the most used space launcher in history. The Soyuz rocket itself is a direct descendant of the rocket that launched Sputnik, the world's first satellite.

* As the name implies, the Colt M1911 was introduced in 1911. While it's been phased out as the US Military's standard issue pistol, it's still in use with the FBI, the US Marine Corps and about two dozen other militaries.

* The American automotive industry, while phasing out individual cars and sometimes entire brands, often continues to use parts originally designed decades prior.
** The AMC I6 engine was first produced in 1964 and outlived the company that made it, its final application being the Jeep Wrangler in 2006 (in itself a workhorse, being visually unchanged for decades). However, the old parts are often [[EnhancedArchaicWeapon modified beyond their original design]], such as the aforementioned engine being upgraded to use fuel injection rather than a carburetor.
** The Chevrolet Generation I small-block V8 was first used in 1955, and was used to power cars and trucks from every brand in General Motors' lineup except Saturn, a brand created specifically to be separate from the rest of GM's corporate structure. It wasn't until 1992 when GM replaced it with the Generation II small-block, and even then, enough parts were interchangeable with the Gen I that a Gen II engine could easily be dropped into a vehicle built for a Gen I. Variants on the Gen I and Gen II small-blocks remained in production until 2003.
** Ford created the Fox platform in 1978 to underpin a number of vehicles, most notably the third-generation Mustang, itself a workhorse that went without significant redesigns until 1993. While most of the cars in Ford's lineup switched over to new platforms in TheNineties, a modified version of the Fox platform was used for the fourth-generation Mustang until 2004.
** The original Volkswagen Beetle is the most prominent automotive example. A triumph of German engineering, its design is, well... "dorky" would be a kind descriptor. But the fact that you can still occasionally see Beetles on the road almost eighty years after the car was first designed is testament enough to its longevity and popularity. While emissions regulations ended its run in North America and Europe in 1978, it was still in production in Mexico as late as ''2003'', where it was finally killed by a new law requiring taxicabs (the main market for the car) to have four doors.
** The Morris Oxford Series III was in production in its home country of Britain from 1956 to '59. In India, however, a locally-built clone called the Hindustan Ambassador entered production in 1958 and kept going, without any significant redesign, until 2014.
** Similarly, an Indian company bought a license to manufacture several motorcycles designed by British company Royal Enfield in the 1960s, and has carried on making them ever since. They're now being exported back to the UK for classic bike enthusiasts who can't afford an original model.

* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_43_(HST) British Rail Class 43 High Speed Train]]. Designed in 1975, the last new unit was produced in 1982 and the type has been in continuous service ever since, with only three power cars being taken out of service after being written off in accidents. No diesel locomotive has yet surpassed the top speed of 148mph achieved in trials. It was initially intended as a stopgap due to delays in development in the tilting Advanced Passenger Train - which never entered full service due to not working properly and loss of political support.

* Franchise/StarWars:

* Franchise/StarWarsLegends (formerly the Star Wars ExpandedUniverse):

* Sony introduced the Dual Analog controller for the original UsefulNotes/PlayStation in April 1997, and refined it into the more famous [=DualShock=] in November of that year, which added controller vibrations. Since then, the [=DualShock=] has served as the main [=PlayStation=] controller through twenty years and [[UsefulNotes/TheFifthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames four]] [[UsefulNotes/TheSixthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames separate]] [[UsefulNotes/TheSeventhGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames console]] [[UsefulNotes/TheEighthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames generations]] and counting, with only a brief interlude at the start of the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3's run due to a patent dispute involving the rumble technology.[[note]]Due to this dispute, the [=PS3=] launched with a controller known as the Sixaxis, which was effectively identical to the later [=DualShock=] 3 barring the lack of vibration features.[[/note]] The only changes made at all since 1997 were the addition of pressure-sensitive analog buttons on the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 DualShock 2]], the addition of wireless connectivity and [[{{Waggle}} (rarely-used) motion sensors]] on the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 DualShock 3]], and turning the [=L2=] and [=R2=] buttons into triggers and the Select button into a touchpad on the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 DualShock 4]]. Otherwise, the basic form factor and button/analog stick placement of the [=DualShock=] have not changed at all, and has in fact informed the design of almost every game controller (barring Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}mote) to follow in its wake.

* In ''[[Videogame/MechWarrior MechWarrior Living Legends]]'' - a Tabletopgame/BattleTech adaptation - the Catapult Prime, Warhammer Prime, and Atlas D are centuries old design variants still in service. While they get outgunned and outran by more modern designs, their archaic standard fusion reactor and simple weapons make them ''exceptionally'' cheap - they can be had for about the same price as mechs 20 tons lighter - and durable, [[MightyGlacier tanking damage beyond their weight class]].

* Sony introduced the Dual Analog controller for the original UsefulNotes/PlayStation in April 1997, and refined it into the more famous [=DualShock=] in November of that year. Since then, the [=DualShock=] has served as the main [=PlayStation=] controller through twenty years and [[UsefulNotes/TheFifthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames four]] [[UsefulNotes/TheSixthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames separate]] [[UsefulNotes/TheSeventhGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames console]] [[UsefulNotes/TheEighthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames generations]] and counting, with only a brief interlude at the start of the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3's run due to a patent dispute involving the rumble technology. The only changes made at all since 1997 were the addition of pressure-sensitive analog buttons on the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 DualShock 2]], the addition of wireless connectivity and [[{{Waggle}} (rarely-used) motion sensors]] on the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 DualShock 3]], and turning the [=L2=] and [=R2=] buttons into triggers and the Select button into a touchpad on the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 DualShock 4]]. Otherwise, the basic form of the [=DualShock=] has not changed at all, and has in fact informed the design of almost every game controller (barring Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s UsefulNotes/{{Wii}}mote) to follow in its wake.

* The original Volkswagon Beetle is the most prominent automotive example. A triumph of German reliability, its design is, well... "dorky" would be a kind descriptor. But the fact that you can still occasionally see them on the road ''35 years'' after they were last in wide production, and ''almost eighty years'' after they were first designed, is testament enough to their longevity and popularity.
* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_43_(HST) British Rail Class 43 High Speed Train]]. Designed in 1975, the last new unit was produced in 1982 and the type has been in continuous service ever since, with only three power cars being taken out of service after being written off in accidents. No diesel locomotive has yet surpassed the top speed of 148mph achieved in trials. It was initially intended as a stopgap due to delays in development in the tilting Advanced Passenger Train - which never entered full service due to not working properly and loss of political support.

* The B-52 Stratofortress was introduced as one of the first bombers made by the United States following WorldWarII, entering service in 1952. Not only is it in service today, it's expected to stay in service (with upgrades) into the 2040s.

* The American automotive industry, while phasing out individual cars and sometimes entire brands, often continues to use parts originally designed decades prior. The AMC I6 engine was first produced in 1964 and outlived the company that made it, its final application being the Jeep Wrangler in 2006 (in itself a workhorse, being visually unchanged for decades). However, the old parts are often [[EnhancedArchaicWeapon modified beyond their original design]], such as the aforementioned engine being upgraded to use fuel injection rather than a carburetor.

* There are numerous examples of this in {{Traveller}}. Probably the most iconic is the ''Beowulf'' class Free Trader.

* ''Franchise/{{Starcraft}}'': The humble Terran Marine, and by extension their standard-issue Impaler gauss rifle and PoweredArmor, were already pretty old during the [[GreatOffscreenWar Guild Wars]] and certainly haven't gotten any younger over the span of the franchise -- in contrast to the huge leaps in development of pretty much every other sector of military technology. Nonetheless, they're the first line of defense for any human settlement. Indeed, this carries over to [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration gameplay]]; as one of the few Terran units that doesn't [[YouRequireMoreVespeneGas Require More Vespene Gas]], the Marine is a part of virtually every Terran strategy.

* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_43_(HST) British Rail Class 43 High Speed Train]]. Designed in 1975, the last new unit was produced in 1982 and the type has been in continuous service ever since, with only three being taken out of service after being written off in accidents. No diesel locomotive has yet surpassed the top speed of 148mph achieved in trials.

* The original Volkswagon Beetle is the most prominent automotive example. A triumph of German reliability, its design is, well... "dorky" would be a kind descriptor. But the fact that you can still occasionally see them on the road ''35 years'' after they were last in wide production, and ''almost eighty years'' after they were first designed, is testament enough to their longevity and popularity.

* Being a LongRunner, the original UC ''{{Franchise/Gundam}}'' series has a few examples. The mass-produced Federation Mobile Suit Jegan, first introduced in ''Anime/CharsCounterattack'' is still in service in ''Anime/GundamF91'' three decades later, though this has more to do with the fact that there were few major conflicts in the intervening years. The real winner, though, is the Salamis class cruiser, which debuted in the original ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' and turns up in nearly every sequel and spinoff since, right up to ''Anime/VictoryGundam'', taking place ''74 years later''.