Eh. Not to dog on you, but the Samurai is kind of a bad example. There weren't nearly as many sold in the '90s as Yarises sell today. There are still a good number of '90s Corollas and Civics though, hell even Cavaliers are still running out there. The Yaris might start to get feeling a bit jalopy when it becomes 20 years old, but it'll probably still be there.

Annecdotal evidence? My bud has a Toyota Echo (which Toyota renamed the Yaris about 2 generations back) and a Geo Metro from the mid '90s. Both are still running decently on the original drivetrains. His problem is getting replacement parts for everything else that's failing on them. Because they're not cars that people want to keep running, like a Fox Body Mustang, finding parts for them can be difficult. If the Echo/Yaris was iconic as the Falcon/Mustang, he probably wouldn't have that problem. I mean, let's be honest, if you called up an auto parts store looking for something for an '82 Chevette they'll laugh and wonder how you've kept it running for so long.