Which is the better unit, the Cig Lighter, the 12V Power Port or an Aftermarket Power Port ?

The Cig Lighter has Insulators, do these Insulators get old and crack with heat and age causing a bad connection ?
The Cig Lighters are more complex in there assembly, a nut on the back will start the disassembly process while the Power Port just unscrews the case !
I have heard over time the Cig Lighter lose their grip, is this true and does the Power Ports do the same ?
Last… is there a heavy duty replacement that will fit both the Cig Lighter and the Power Port locations ?

thanks up front...

 

my cig lighter is 22 years old and it works perfectly fine, i use it reguarly for cigarettes and plug my FM transmitter into it and not an issue other than the placement in mine could be better.

 

FWIW, Ford says that the lighter and power point sockets should each be used for their intended purpose only and never interchanged. The sockets are definitely different inside. My best guess is that the bigger problem would be using the hot cigarette lighter in the power point socket that is not designed for it.

On the other hand, plug in accessories were originally developed specifically to use the cigarette lighter socket long before dedicated power points ever existed in cars.

Either can fail over time, especially the lighter socket that would seem to lead a tougher life. Ford lighter sockets are not the best but I have to believe that they are at least as good as and probably better than the typical auto parts store replacement.