Personally, I don't think that's a fair analogy. Look at it this way: more than likely, the manufacturer of your minivan is still supporting your vehicle. A part breaks, you'll be able to find a service station that can repair or replace it.
Microsoft has turned its back on Windows 98. (Just like Apple has on is Mac OS 9). It is now officially an unsupported operating system. They don't sell it, nor support it any more. If you have a problem with it, you're out of luck.
I guess that could be a problem for some folks, true. I see your point. But I built my first computer from a kit back in 1976. Soldered the mother board and 128 1kx8 chips on the two memory cards. Rarely have software or hardware problems I can't handle. I never have used MS support and probably never will. I am not the average computer user.
I am a guy with a 1932 Ford who still can keep it running even if Ford no longer supports that model.