Yep, it's a game to eliminate the indy shops. They used R&D side of the biz to make everything proprietary.
Having a new car is like living in a fancy hotel- everything is taken care of while the warranty is in place, you pay for that piece of mind.
New cars today also are subjectively nice in the sense they are quiet, and more powerful then before. It is true that they market cars these days the same way they market computers, with electronic garbage instead of longevity and power.
I dunno about the rest of you but I've got the regressive thing goin on- switching out my fleet to old cars so I can rebuild them at will....
My newest rig shortly will be a 96
rjp