what happened to Sears being the source of good tools, appliances, and auto repairs? The article Craig wrote at Car Talk explains

http://www.cartalk.com/blogs/craig-fitzgerald/sears-craftsman-tools-what-happened-0

FYI
Sears never "made" Craftsman tools. In its history, it contracted out to some of the finest toolmakers in the world. You can find out which company made those tools by decoding the first three digits of the serial number to the left of the decimal point on pretty much anything Sears sold. There's a decoder at http://vintagemachinery.org/Craftsman/manufacturers.aspx