I generally agree with what you write. However, even low-end cars will
last
longer than 10 years/150,000 miles if well maintained. 20 years and 300K
or
more is easily attainable. Just avoid the Chevys and Fords and Chryslers
(daimler chryslers now, but still domestically built crap).

I think that's an unjustified canard. My mother-in-law drove the same
Ford
Granada for 23 years. If she hadn't died at the age of 93, she'd still be
driving it today (I've seen it a couple of times around town).



Sure there will always be exceptions to the rule. The Ford Granada you
write about is not one of them, unless your MIL was a 70-93 year old
commuter. (I suspect she was retired for most if not all of the time she
owned that car).

It's about playing the odds. Could you get a Chevy to last 20 years? Yes.
Would you improve your odds by buying a Toyota instead? GREATLY.

So of course there are going to be people who say (for example) "But my
Dodge lasted 30 years!!!". Yes, it happens. That does not mean that it's
smart to (for example) buy a Dodge if you want a vehicle to last 30 years,
though. -Dave