Yeah I don't know if I agree with the whole towing thing - I've towed in excess of 5K pounds (weight of trailer plus cargo) behind the VX (not sure about hitch/tongue weight which I would presume would be less) without any issues with my tranny - going on 160k miles as the original owner. I've also done meticulous maintenance on my truck AND had it supercharged for a year or two before removing the unit. Still no tranny issues. I can also say I don't baby my truck, however most of the miles is stop-and-go highway commuting less than 10 miles and back from work, with an occasional trip out-of-state to camp, vacation, etc.

I'm more inclined to agree with Mark Griffin, though, regarding abuse-and-neglect, as I've seen how many drivers tear up their vehicles "YOLO!" Driving a vehicle "hard" is much like driving through adverse conditions - if you look at the service manuals, that means more frequent maintenance intervals - most casual owners don't take the extra steps - heck it's hard enough to get many to do regular oil-changes, much less more frequently. Even driving in higher-than-average heat, dust or polution takes a pounding on any car or truck and you should do maintenance more frequently as a consequence.

Just my 2 cents, for what they're worth...