I can't really answer what they did wrong, but i read somewhere that when the new guys (who actually cared about Fender guitars) took over the company in the early 80's, they tested every strat in stock at the factory. They only found 15 that held what they meant should be standard Fender quality. At least that's how I remember it, so I guess a lot went wrong with Fender during the 70's.....
