21st Mar 2011, 14:21
I hate to tell you, but you are mistaken. Japanese cars are not the only ones cheaply made. ALL cars are cheaply made to some extent. They are made by companies who are in the business to turn a profit. That said, they all cut corners where they can get away with it. Taking the lowest bid on materials and things like manufacturing is just good business for them or anyone else who is trying to make money from a profit. Do any of you for one minute think that any car corporation is run by a car enthusiast whom is out to make the best most reliable car ever? I'm afraid the answer is no. They are run by men and women who are interested in making money only. Their directives are to make the car for as little money as possible, and sell as many as possible to turn the largest profit possible. period.
It's been this way for as long as there have been cars. Anybody remember a man named Tucker? He tried to build the safest, most reliable car in the world, and succeeded, until the big three knocked him down because he would have cut too deeply into their profit margin. I'm not saying that all cars are crappy, but don't be surprised if you see cheap plastic panels in your interior. They are designed to break. Why else would you need to buy a new one if they did not? ;-)
20th Mar 2011, 18:44
"It has far better styling, better fuel economy, and better build quality than anything from Japan."
Better build quality than Japan, and yet you won't buy one as it is the first year for them. Kind of contradictory isn't it? I have never had issues with first year models when I have bought import cars. I have had many first year designs, and never an issue. Some domestics I have had started having issues at low miles, and they were 3 or 4 years into the model cycle. I wouldn't count on this car getting better with a year or two of model years going by!