I think a much better reason that people ditch their cars is the increased safety in the newer models. Very few cars had side air bags and a decent amount didn'

I think a much better reason that people ditch their cars is the increased safety in the newer models. Very few cars had side air bags and a decent amount didn't have ABS 15 years ago. There are a lot of other improvements surely made that I don't know about. In Japan everyone junks their cars in 10 years because of the mandatory car check-ups (we pay $400-$2000 every 2 years for the check-up then have to pay every year once the car hits 10 years old). There are some exceptions and I don't know all the rules as I just own one car.