There's a case to be made for certain older tools performing better than newer designs. Many older hand tools and larger pieces of equipment will generally perform better and last longer than the newer stuff. This could be due to quality of materials, where it's produced, and many other things.
That being said, I believe handheld power tools have come a long way from what they once were. The best example of this is with jigsaws. While older ones like our black and decker will certainly last forever, there are usability improvements that have been made since then that blow it out of the water. The main reason we switched from the old black and decker was for ease of changing out blades.
But changing blades was the smallest change we noticed when we switched to the Bosch. The biggest difference we noticed was just how smooth the tool operates. You barely have to apply any downward pressure to keep it from bouncing off the table, and the same goes for the direction of the cut. This is a mix of an improved blade, and oscillation which cuts into the material more aggressively.
The particular Bosch jigsaw we have isn't made anymore, but any of them would do. In this instance, I would stick with Bosch brand as theirs seem to be better than the competition. I don't think we've used the old jigsaw since we got it, and it now rests on the 'retired tools' shelf.
