I always wondered this since I noticed that a lot of cars always have at least some damage to their pinch weld jack points, usually from hydraulic jacks, lack of adapters, or dropping the car onto jack stands hard. I get it not everyone has the right equipment or experience but it also seems like a poor and cheap design from the manufacturers. Why hasn’t there been a method or aftermarket product that kinda bulks up the pinch welds. Hell I don’t think I ever seen someone even weld or bolt on some steel to kind of guard the pinch welds from bending. Is there a reason for that, like structurally? Why are those hockey puck looking adapters the norm, just because its easier?
Tldr: Many vehicles suffer damage to their pinch weld jacking points from improper use of jacks, prompting the question of why there isn’t a robust aftermarket solution or protective design from manufacturers to prevent this issue, besides those hockey puck looking adapters?
This is really what it boils down to. I never had this issue as a mechanic, but I didn’t generally use pinch welds as a jack point. Most vehicles have numerous options for using a floor jack. You could use a control arm, or cross member, or sometimes a drivetrain component. Additionally, sometimes the pinch weld has a designated spot for jacking that seems to be reinforced.
Maybe what you are saying only applies to newer vehicles and I am out of date. Totally possible! I did not experience this 10+ years ago, tho. Only on exceptionally rusty cars that the driver would be challenged to install thr spare on the side of the road.