Lucky, aren't you? - I've known more than one person who has gone through a series of old Rovers, usually owning more than one of them at a time so there's a supply of bits to repair the regular breakdowns. One of these people got applauded whenever he actually managed to turn up at something, as he usually failed to make it to the party or whatever due to yet another breakdown.
And why don't you hear about car engine failures? - why should you, the driver just coasts to the side of the road and calls the AA, that's hardly going to make the local newspaper even, is it. I have had several engine failures in cars, and whilst the ones in the outside lane of a crowded motorway seemed dramatic at the time they're still not the sort of thing anyone would have heard about.