Stuart Wheaton writes:

Right, it is the destruction of old crappy machines that get lousy
mileage.

Fine, function, running machines with $1000s in remaining value.

During the Great Depression, WWII, and for a while after, owning an
automobile was an unfulfilled ambition for most people. How far we have,
where we have so many that we must destroy them.

We so resemble Japan. They destroy (*) cars over 3 years old for "safety"
reasons.

(*) Destroy by applying a prohibitive tax on ownership