This is a rather rose-tinted view — old cars (c. >25 years) broke down very frequently (by modern standards), rusted easily, and very rarely lasted to 100,000 miles. By a substantial margin, new cars have never been so reliable or required so little maintenance.
Conversely, this doesn't mean that cars were made poorly in the past, it's just that the technologies and methods used in their manufacture have improved over time.
What the other guy said, but that's also why I said "circa" instead of an exact date. The reason Camcords and Corollics became ubiquitous was their reputation for consistently lasting, on no more than the manufacturer-recommended maintenance schedule and a warranty repair or two, past the 100k mile marker without throwing a head gasket or rusting away.
Nowadays that's the minimum we expect (even for bargain-basement Korean subcompacts,* exotic Porsche sports cars or bleeding-edge high-technology computer-controlled Teslas), but >25 years ago it was virtually unheard of outside the Japanese brands.
*The Hyundai Excel and Pony had such poor reputations for reliability that their brand image still remains somewhat tarnished in the US, while the Daewoo brand had to be retired in North America/Europe entirely (I believe some of their models are now sold as Chevys).
Most early 90's cars were garbage. Some would live to high mileage but fall apart in the process. Rust, bad paint, plastics that faded and cracked, terrible suspension, etc.
Conversely, this doesn't mean that cars were made poorly in the past, it's just that the technologies and methods used in their manufacture have improved over time.