I think that part of the problem is in the 50`s, 60`s and 70`s, there wasnt the abundance of good quality, well priced basses available like we have now and Fender had most of the market. And there wasnt the internet for players to bitch to each other how bad some of those Fenders were.
Now most of us have heard stories of how bad Fender qc can be, although I have never owned a "bad" one. Compare this to the recent Squier models which, on the whole, seem to be very good value compared to their US cousins at around a third of the price. I have a VM77 Jazz bass: it`s great to play and have gigged it several times and will do in the future.
If it sounds and feels good, I don`t give a baboons backside which name is on the headstcok.