The clutch is only as good as the person who is using it.   Can clutches last
a long time?  Yes.  My parents '85 Jetta diesel has 250k miles on the original
clutch (and motor) and it still functions perfectly fine.  However if you ride
the clutch (releasing it slowly instead of rapidly because you like to start
out in second gear) or use the clutch constantly (like in stop and go traffic
in big cities) or sit at traffic lights and rock the van back and forth using
the clutch to accomplish this (sorry I really hate when people do that) then
you can accelerate the wear on the clutch and cause it to croak more quickly
than it should have.  If you are going to use a clutch then either have the
pedal fully depressed (you are not using the clutch when the pedal is pressed
all the way down) or keep you foot off of the clutch when you are driving (you
are not using the clutch when you are driving) and make the time when you do
use the clutch a quick and practised action (it can be smooth, I am not
talking miliseconds here) then your clutch can last for 100k miles or more
with no problem.
Have fun and please don't chirp the tires!
Ken Wilford
John 3:16