Wow, that's some bass ackwards logic. If the drives are more prone to failure, wouldn't extending the free service and replacement cost a company more money? Conversely, if a manufacturer knows that its product has a limited lifespan, wouldn't it be in their interest for the "standard" warranty to end before that average lifespan is up?
BTW, car warranties and electronics warranties are apples and oranges -- American Honda's factory warranties vary from 3/36k to 5/60k, depending on model, and can be extended to 10/100k for a fee. The reason for the short warranty is that a long warranty does no bolster Honda's image, and given the extremely long life-cycles of their cars (versus the industry average), a long warranty only promotes private owner sales of existing vehicles, rather than new vehicle sales. Hyundai, which actually has relatively decent initial quality and product lifespans (better than Ford and Mazda, IIRC), is trying to establish a presence and positive reputation in the U.S. market, so the longer warranties encourage initial and subsequent owners to keep their Hyundai's on the road for a longer period, potentially enhancing brand awareness.
It's rare that a computer carry a hood ornament, even moreso that the hood ornament feature the hard drive's logo. WD's carry a short warranty because they're cheap. Seagate's carry a longer warranty because they're not.
