I agree with you about the warrenty fraud thing, but the “solution” of removing the aftermarket industy seems insane for me.
That’s like saying microsoft is going to stop producing software because people pirate their stuff.
To me, the issue should be solved by awareness on both the parts of the car owner and the dealerships. Dealership needs more awareness in order to detect damage due to aftermarket parts to prevent fraudulent claims. Owners can raise their awareness by knowing the effects of their mods so that dealers can’t pin every little thing on “mods”.
I’m sure car manufacturers aren’t only taking modding into consideration when they make their engineering decisions on the performance of individual parts. It could very well be that the engineering process has improved, and they can meet their requirements to a more exact degree to reduce production and design costs. Civic engines bays aren’t getting tighter because they want to keep turbos out, its more likely to maximize the space and weight available in there. As engines are getting increasing complex, it’s not difficult to see why engine bays are getting filled up.
I believe that the car manufacturers are getting a piece of the aftermarket pie though various means. one, they have in-house engineers (like Nismo, and AMG for example), or they sell their cars to the aftermarket companies in order to perform their tests.
IMO, modding has its good and bad sides. You seemed to have focused on the negative aspects of the industry. There are reputable companies that work hard to make sure that their products are engineered to work well and improve the performance (not strictly power) of our cars. I mean you yourself want to make suspension changes and get new rims. It’s upto people like us to make sure people understand that modding isn’t all bad.