By the time you pay off a five year loan your car is pretty much a POS due to the rust.

You must base that low expectation on your personal experience with Toyotas, like my experience with my POS Lexus that was rusting in just 3 years.  Never had that problem with ANY of my American or European cars, or for that matter any of my other Japanese cars.  We have a 15 year old Jeep with almost 200,000 miles on it that's just starting to get rust along the bottom lip of the rear doors.  Other than that, it's rust free.  As is my 8 year old Dodge Grand Caravan with 175,000 miles on it.  My other cars are all less than 6 years old, so rust even here in the snow belt where salt is a winter staple, isn't a problem.   

like my experience with my POS Lexus that was rusting in just 3 years.

I'm kind of surprised by your experience.  I could understand it if it was a typical Toyota that used inferior recycled steel for body panels, but I always understood their Lexus models used only virgin steel that doesn't rust as fast as the recycled.  Maybe I'm wrong, maybe they're using recycled on both.  What good is an engine that can go 150,000-200,000 miles when the car rusts out from under it?

What good is an engine that can go 150,000-200,000 miles when the car rusts out from under it?

So the first time car buyers have something affordable to drive. 

Growing up in a state with salt /chemical caked winter roads rust was an accepted part of life. My personal observation is that cars/trucks built in the last 10 - 15 years are standing up to the harsh environment much better than those built previously.  Sure they will still "rust out" if the owners neglect them, but generally speaking it takes much longer for that to happen than previous. In MN 10 year old cars with little to no visible signs of rust are the norm now, and our DOT LOVES to use road chemicals. I think they are paid commission on the tonnage they drop every season.  If you are diligent about washing the vehicle outer, inner and under you are rewarded with a vehicle likely to last longer than your want to own it.

You're lucky. On my 15 y/o Grand Cherokee, the bottom inside edges of all 4 doors are rusting, and so are the rockers....

LS1 Bird, the underneath of ours is real clean.  The only thing I've had to replace because of corrosion was the cat-back portion of the exhaust system last year and one of my front sway bar links rusted through, an easy fix for about $20 and 20 minutes of my time.  The clear coat is starting to go on the top surfaces like the hood and top of the lift gate......which just got rear-ended by a dope in a Honda Pilot....(the Jeep won that contest)....so the lift gate will be getting a repaint soon anyway. 

We have a 15 year old Jeep with almost 200,000 miles on it that's just starting to get rust along the bottom lip of the rear doors.  Other than that, it's rust free.

You're lucky. On my 15 y/o Grand Cherokee, the bottom inside edges of all 4 doors are rusting, and so are the rockers....in fact there's a rather large hole in the driver's side rocker. And also I'm getting some in the front wheelwells as well.

And not to mention everything underneath....whenev​er I work on it I have a heck of a time loosening bolts...I'm more likely to break them at this point.

Some cars are better than others. I remember Toyotas used to be really bad in the 80's...how many Toy pickups with homemade flatbeds did you see back then??  And first gen Dodge Rams are pretty bad too. On the other hand, I can't remember ever seeing a rusted out Volvo. Also, my Firebird is a '00 and is doing great in that aspect, except for some rust in the rear seat footwells under the carpet thanks to leaky t-top seals - very typical for those cars.

One comment on the article - high grade fuels are recomended as a way to keep the car running longer. FALSE. High grade fuel is only needed or necessary if you're car specifically requires it. Putting 93 octane in a car designed to run on 87 octane can actually DEGRADE performace. At best, all you're doing is throwing money away.