I started building ARs back in the early 90's, right before the federal ban came into effect. Back then, there were only a few companies making rifles, and even fewer making parts - and virtually all of the part guys were generic mil-spec (FN et al) resellers. I was pretty much out of the AR game for 20 years, but noticed that as time progressed, other companies sprung up, and the reputations of many of the older companies seem to have changed radically. Bushmaster and DPMS were considered cream of the crop back in the day, and were priced accordingly. Oly and Stag were considered bottom of the barrel when they got popular - maybe 10 years ago, but were really cheap to buy. Now, those rolls seem to have reversed, and there are a zillion or so parts guys out there now with varying reputations. Has quality really changed for the older guys, or have higher quality options been introduced. Are there really differences in true quality other than cosmetics, or is it a Ford vs Chevy thing?