I live in SC and my '05 has lots of rust under it including all the nuts and bolts under the hood. My '95.5 Taco didn't have nearly the rust under it when it was totaled after nine years and 190,000 miles of cross country traveling including horrible weather. My 1980 FJ40 had rust in the floorboards and along the rear fenders and the frame had surface rust, but nothing structural.
On the one hand, Toyota has definitely lowered quality in order to remain competitive/ beat GMC as the #1 retailer but in their defense environmental regulations have greatly increased the cost of platings, paints, etc. Anyone tried to find a chrome plater in their area lately? They hardly exist anymore due to increasingly restrictive environmental laws. Heck, the chrome you do see isn't plated nearly as heavily or as well as old American cars used to be and it doesn't last anywhere near as long. The modern methods of painting with base coat/clear coat isn't going to last anywhere near as long as primer, several coats of paint and several coats of clear. It's hard to find anyone who will spray a hard paint like Imron either.
I suppose the big problem is that American consumers aren't willing to pay for a durable good nor are we demanding that they be durable, we expect and accept that our cars are disposable like everything else we buy. The era of the restorable car ended in the 1980s with vehicles like the Land Cruiser.
