It depends on where the home is located when you consider the life of wood siding.
My family had a beach house from 1978-1997 and I bought in the same area last year. In the 1980s, people went with the wood siding look. Of course, being on the ocean, the siding took a beating, though the weathered siding look worked in the '70s and '80s. Later some people stained or painted theirs or just did the trim. My family did it all -- started with wood siding, then I painted the trim (red) as a teenager, then we eventually painted the entire house a burnt orange color. Subsequent owners have repainted various shades of orange or cream.
In the early 2000s, vinyl siding caught on and now 90 percent of the beach community is vinyl siding, mostly blue, pink, or yellow. It looks a lot cleaner and fresher. A few still repaint their wood, though I still get nostalgic when I look at the few remaining holdouts with their weathered unfinished look.