i don't know which firearms you are referring to that has pressed cardboard for stock, TV monitors, electronic releases and carbon fiber barrels with metallic inserts so feel free to point those out. The Ruger American, which is the one I'm ordering is great with the fit and plane Jane with the finish. However pretty rifles are and were, looks don't make them do what they are designed to do. I don't worry about looks as much as I look at accuracy and function.
Those who make the rifles we shoot still have to drive the $40,000 pick-up, pay at the pump like we do and buy the food that we eat. The employee is the most expensive commodity since they never produce the same amount of work from day to day. That has changed the consumer product more than anything in history.