I agree. One has to ask: what is worse for the environment, a car that pollutes more but lasts 400k miles or a car that pollutes less but only lasts 200k. The cost and environmental affects of manufacturing aren't zero.
It also varies based on what you have for recycling and other things, too - if we're talking the only vehicle in an entire town that is otherwise from the 1800s, the long-running simple one will almost certainly win.
But in Los Angeles? That's an entire different issue, especially as there will be so many that economies of scale come into play.
