^^Balderdash. On dark, cold, wet winter nights/weekends you don't waste precious personal time removing chains and cleaning them. A good on-bike scouring with brine and sand keeps the chain cleaner than you might think! You just keep adding new lube -- thin enough that the cold doesn't make it stiff, often enough that it stays quiet -- and spend the time you save with your significant other. He/she's the one that gets you through those long dark winters.

OK, maybe my chains don't last as long, (but they never break) and my chainrings might only last 15 years instead of 17, but the thought of cleaning my chain every week would make me go back to driving my car.

I never clean chains.
There, I've said it. I feel better now. Confession is good for the soul.
(But I do "micro-lube" and honestly my chains don't get all that dirty. But then I never wash my car, either.)