[sliverstorm]

Mustangs got more expensive, but that's only one data point :)

http://blog.caranddriver.com/are-cars-getting-less-affordabl...

Heavily salted states certainly have an easier time justifying no emissions testing. You start out with a "known good" (regulated by the EPA) and count on cars to expire quickly. Compare to California, which thanks to gentle climate still has a huge fleet of 1980's cars on the road.

[danjayh]

That's about the only good thing about the salt (aside from not dying on an ice patch :) ). My wife's 2005 Pontiac G6 with 120k on it is already starting to rust. I dumped my last car at ~9 years old with ~130k because it was starting to rust.

OTOH, I have a '96 Camaro that I only drive during the summer that doesn't have a speck of rust on it (driving an RWD car in a northern state during the winter is a good way to end up in an accident). It's amazing how big a difference the salt makes ... and dirt roads -- I think they kill cars even faster than salt. We are lucky enough to live on a paved road, so I don't have to worry about that particular problem.

[ghaff]

Yep. I have a '97 Honda Del Sol. I did drive it in the winter some for a while but haven't for a number of years; I live in Massachusetts. Now, whenever it's in at the dealer, I invariably have a mechanic or service manager commenting on what great shape it's in. (It's not in mint shape by any means but it doesn't have serious rust other than the exhaust replacements that it's inevitably had.)