Thanks guys. Not to say that I am completely non-aggressive, but as I said, I have tried, ever since owning the car, to be gentle with it. I think CapriRacer’s answer has a lot to be said for it. I never really thought about it, but the amount of non-straight driving that is entailed in just entering/leaving home (condo) parking lot as well as the parking lot at work is considerable and adds up. And any driving that I do when off of work tends to involve multiple side-streets and turns, despite the short distances involved. And that which Wentwest mentioned about the tires being outside probably plays a role as well, since the car is almost never parked in a garage.