I remember the good old days when they came from the factory WITH rust.
Manly times, they were. Then Toyotas and Datsuns arrived on our shores, and the rust bunnies went through a population explosion.
The wheel wells, the hoods, the edges of doors, oh MY. Covered with lovely blooms of rusty red boils.
I used to be happy when an exhaust system rotted "clean" off. It made it simpler to JB Weld on a replacement. My floor boards were made out of wood on several of my cars.
Lastly, I had a Honda civic from the mid-70s. It was a decent enough car, but one time when it was raining I started to get water sprayed on me as I drove down the road. The windows were closed but I felt a light mist spraying the back of my head. A rot hole had opened in the rear fender and water was spinning off the rear tire.
Good times!
If you choose not to embrace your rust the the tip about polishing it out and putting a clear coat on is a good one.