STEVEN KURUTZ sneers at the kind of person who,

as a consequence of thrift, sentimentality or perhaps plain old inertia, is wedded to the same aging vehicle for a very long time.

He suggests that it's a false economy. Maybe in some cases. But our 1985 Mazda GLC (with only 90,000 miles on it) still hasn't had any major problems. My impression is that Americans buy new cars sooner than they need to, if thrift is the primary consideration.