I agree, but again like Matt said it is about what the manufacturers feel is the 'lifetime" for the vehicle. It was the crappy 01M (and its 096 precursor) that often died before even a reasonable lifetime was used up.
Remember, if every car company made a product that lasted forever, they'd all be out of business in a few years.
Speaking of "perceived" lifetime definition, we deal with fleets here a lot. And they all have different views on this, based on how long they expect to keep the vehicle in service. Oddly enough, they almost all change the oil two or even three times more often than is necessary, but will have no issue neglecting virtually everything else. We have one that insists on 5k oil change intervals on 10k interval cars (Ford Focus), get pissed when their drivers go over (because the PM reminder is set to go off every 10k miles,
because that is what Ford says it is supposed to do ), but absolutely refuse to replace the cabin filters. No matter what. So, eventually when they clog up, and the drivers complain of poor A/C performance, we are instructed to
remove and discard the cabin filter.
So guess what happens? There is no screen or anything, so debris gets into the HVAC case and blows out the dash vents. One of the driver suffered a scratched cornea due to a dried leaf chunk blasting out the dash vents and hitting him in the eye!
.... but boy you better change that oil twice as often or else.....