Isn't this just the new word for flexing, same thing different slang?

Keeps coming up that the dip was more like the late 90s into the early 2000s, not after 2005. By the mid 2000s a lot of brands had already cut back on metal bases and separate lights and all that detail, so the change you're feeling started earlier than you think. Some of it is also just what was popular then, the tuner and muscle stuff got way better in the 2000s while the everyday cars got cheaper to make. Not saying you're wrong about the quality drop, just that 2005 is a few years late for when it really kicked in.

Man, I feel this. I did the same thing on my 2013 Corolla after some kid on a bike scraped the whole side. The little tube of factory match paint was close enough that from ten feet away you can't even tell, and six years of sun fade is really not that bad on a white or silver car. If yours is red or blue, the match might be more obvious, so try it on a hidden spot first like the inside of a door jamb. Honestly the personality trait thing works too, but for twelve bucks it's worth a shot.