Do you have any examples of cars that "regularly" last 300,000 miles (480,000 km)?
I have an old VW Passat TDI with 300,000 that I am working to restore, but it definitely didn't "last" that long. Our Jetta TDI "lasted" 240,000 miles, but it's definitely on its absolute last legs and not regular. The difference between them is stark: the early 90s Passat is bolted together; the newer Jetta is (was) glued. The Passat has electrical plugs and components can be replaced; the Jetta wiring is largely routed through the unibody (which has been welded shut). Cracked wires (of which there are many) cannot be easily replaced or repaired. It's got bean counters' fingerprints all over it.
If anything, I would expect to see the same thing happen in cars as which happened everywhere else in consumer appliances: manufacturing processes are cheapened to the absolute limit of acceptable warranty repairs.
I have an old VW Passat TDI with 300,000 that I am working to restore, but it definitely didn't "last" that long. Our Jetta TDI "lasted" 240,000 miles, but it's definitely on its absolute last legs and not regular. The difference between them is stark: the early 90s Passat is bolted together; the newer Jetta is (was) glued. The Passat has electrical plugs and components can be replaced; the Jetta wiring is largely routed through the unibody (which has been welded shut). Cracked wires (of which there are many) cannot be easily replaced or repaired. It's got bean counters' fingerprints all over it.
If anything, I would expect to see the same thing happen in cars as which happened everywhere else in consumer appliances: manufacturing processes are cheapened to the absolute limit of acceptable warranty repairs.