One of the vehicles I was referring to was my fathers 2010 Dodge 3500 cab/chassis with the 6.7 Cummins and 6spd. It is supposed to tow 18,000lbs, which we often do, and the truck is just falling apart. At just 30,000mi its had a new clutch, new front brakes, new tie rod, and new u-joints in both the rear driveshaft and front axle. In comparison, we have a '75 Chevy C-60 that has been in constant service for almost 40yrs and has needed nothing more than regular service (it's rated to tow about the same amount.) Yes, I know that isn't a fair comparison of a light duty vs a medium duty, but the mfgs are touting these new light duty trucks to do the same work as the mediums, yet they completely fall apart when you really use them.
I also have a '69 F-350 cab/chassis, it rides a lot better than the aforementioned Dodge, has a greater payload capacity, is geared lower (clutches last much longer) and honestly gets about the same mpg. I don't know what it is rated to tow, but I don't use it for that anyways. Sure it doesn't have AC, power steering or even a radio, but it's also a $350 truck vs a $35000 truck. Hauls hay, firewood, lumber and anything else just the same as far as I can tell.
As for autos, my wife has a '91 Honda accord, it has 320K on it with nothing more than routine maintenance, still on the original clutch. It also gets 30-35mpg, which is better than a lot of similar cars today.
I guess I can just think of a lot of better things to spend my money on than new vehicles when older ones will do the same job for pennies on the dollar.
