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Comments: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-60, 61-75, 76-90, 91-105, 106-115
Comment 10:50 is about the most unfounded and silly comment I have seen on here: "start with the FACTS??"
The FACTS are that Ford is now rated as HIGHER in reliability than Toyota or Honda. The FACTS are that despite countless rants and unfounded claims, not ONE SINGLE IMPORT OWNER has offered a single "FACT" to back up their claims!!
As I read thru various comments on the various sites, I see comment after comment from people who actually own domestics and have ZERO problems with them.
I also see plenty of comments like comment 11:11 from people who have had anything but reliable service from imports, but now are VERY happy with a domestic.
Maybe if you had actually owned a domestic you might be a little wiser.
It's funny that anyone would make a comment about ANY Japanese vehicle being the "longest lasting". A number of vehicles have made the "million mile club", including Volvo, Ford, Cadillac and Mercedes. There's not a Japanese car in the entire list. "Longest lasting"?? Keep dreaming!!
<<It's funny that anyone would make a comment about ANY Japanese vehicle being the "longest lasting". A number of vehicles have made the "million mile club", including Volvo, Ford, Cadillac and Mercedes. There's not a Japanese car in the entire list. "Longest lasting"?? Keep dreaming!!>.
Well, the million mile club isn't necessarily an indication of quality. A Saab recently made it and, as this site and endless others testify, the majority of Saabs are crap. Same with Volvo and Cadillac.
Mercedes is the only one that can claim to offer consistent quality (in the PAST).
The rest are just attributed to a combination of luck and how much money an owner wants to pump into the car.
That still doesn't explain why there are ZERO Japanese cars in the million mile club.
<<That still doesn't explain why there are ZERO Japanese cars in the million mile club.>>
Probably a lot has to do with ownership intent. There are tons of Beetles around here (California) but few American cars from the same era.
The Japanese cars were not "interesting" until about two decades ago. Now the Gen X, Gen Y, and others have taken a huge interest in them and you will soon find Civics and such entering the million mile club.
And, as I said, the million mile club is NOT a good indicator of reliability since Saabs have NEVER been a Consumer Reports recommended car and have never been considered reliable overall.
Where I come from we call them Rustyotas. Nice running cars, but the salt eats them up. My 1985 Corolla fell to pieces at around 300k. Cheaper to buy another one than to fix it. My 1989 Cressida was the same. I sold it to a guy who wanted the drive train, it still ran well, but it just rotted away.
I still got my 1978 Olds Vista Cruiser, it's my daily driver. Had it since new, it was my wife's car. A great car, has over 400k on the clock and still runs good. At least it always starts in the winter at minus 30C, neither of my Toyota's would start without being plugged in.
Haven't owned a foreign car since the Cressida. My wife owns an F150 and when the Olds dies I'm going to get one myself. Nothing beats North American.
Toyota is the best auto manufacturer on the planet. Anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong.
<<Where I come from we call them Rustyotas. Nice running cars, but the salt eats them up. My 1985 Corolla fell to pieces at around 300k. Cheaper to buy another one than to fix it. My 1989 Cressida was the same. I sold it to a guy who wanted the drive train, it still ran well, but it just rotted away.>.
My 1979 Caprice Classic had a new coat of rust colored paint (that was rust) after ONE winter in western New York. ONE.
My 1980 Tercel survived SEVEN winters without any rust problems.
<<My 1979 Caprice Classic had a new coat of rust colored paint (that was rust) after ONE winter in western New York. ONE.>>
<<My 1980 Tercel survived SEVEN winters without any rust problems>>
You must have kept it in the garage all winter. Nothing rusts like Toyota. That's why you don't see many ten year old Toyotas on the road, there usually part of it by that time.
Well, if you're talking about the cars themselves that is subjective since Toyota doesn't really make a sports car that I would be interested in. It used to build fun cars (Tercel - and yes my Tercel was fun as hell, Celica AllTrac, Supra).
BUT if you're talking about actual facts then, yes, Toyota is the best auto manufacturer on the planet. It has a market cap greater than the big three combined, is growing an a huge rate, and is considered the best run company in the world for its size.
Only from a pure profit perspective does Toyota lose out - to Porsche. Porsche is the most profitable car maker on the planet on a per-car basis, but obviously Toyota makes much more money overall.
Ops, I was going to add some more thought to this debate, but another "Huge" Toyota recall was just announced affecting 600,000 Tundra and Sequoia model trucks. Something to do with the steering. Nothing out of the ordinary I hear. Hey, now that's "Toyota Quality". That says it all!
Gee, let's see... Toyotas now have recalls for bad steering, accelerators sticking, and TONS of complaints about defective brakes. I'm almost scared to meet one on the road. If the accelerator sticks at the same time the steering fails I'll have a HECK of a time scraping the remains off the front of my (domestic) SUV.
<<Ops, I was going to add some more thought to this debate, but another "Huge" Toyota recall was just announced affecting 600,000 Tundra and Sequoia model trucks. Something to do with the steering. Nothing out of the ordinary I hear. Hey, now that's "Toyota Quality". That says it all!>.
Yeah, never happened to an American manufacturer. Oh, wait, my Focus had 20 recalls. Nevermind.
A few very serious defects such as Toyotas steering recall, brakes, malfunctioning air bags. accelerator throttle sticking open can be fatal. And yes you can have 20 recalls but what are they exactly?...such as a bad SUV tailight recall, window mechanism, factory radio with a CD repair, water pump bracket recall etc. which could be recalled but is not serious or life threatening. A vehicle of this price range with few options, lack of performance or power less handling better be exceptional nearly zero defects for what you have to give up. I think the warranty should be stretched out to standard 100,000 miles like many others without an extra expense to show the manufacturers total faith in the reliabilty of their products. If I hadn't been stung on my last warranty that ran out at 36,000 I may have remained an import buyer. They expect you to pay for an extended warranty when you have already paid a premium for a luxury import. Poeple are intelligent and look around when they are let down........we certainly did.
<<And yes you can have 20 recalls, but what are they exactly?...such as a bad SUV tailight recall, window mechanism, factory radio with a CD repair, water pump bracket recall etc. which could be recalled, but is not serious or life threatening>.
Silly me, I guess brakes, flooding in the compartment, engine fires, and similar are considered "minor" by you. That's what my Focus had. Radio worked fine, as did the tailights. oh, the car was also in the shop 10+ times for reasons IN ADDITION to the recalls.