I personally couldn't care less who they want to market their cars to. I care about only a few basic things.
1) How much?
2) How much upkeep?
3) How long will it last?
4) Is it practical to my family's needs?
'97 Lexus ES300 with 162,000 miles. Runs superbly, leather seats are starting to show some wear. Also a few rattles, putting new brake pads in this weekend.
'92 Toyota pickup with 158,000 miles. Runs superbly, dented and bent up; but has ran dependably for me from the day I bought it.
I expect to get another 100,000 miles off each of them, without investing money into the engines or transmissions. I'll stay with the Japanese vehicles, thank you very much.
Subaru is Japanese! Glad I sold mine in 94!
GMC Van - 229,000 - another 200,000 should be possible
Pontiac Firebird - 178,000 - will keep for life
Pontiac Bonneville - 129,000 - should be broken in soon
No engines never rebuilt - just change the oil every 3k
Love my GM's
1.2 million
You don't drive much, do you...
(1991 VW Jetta Diesel - 317,000, 1997 VW Jetta TDI 289,000... both get significantly over 40mpg and still run strong... ;-)
Now please don't tell me that VW supports this drivel!
I'm with you Hodar. I used to hate Japanese cars because I thought they were putting Americans out of work. Then the Japanese companies began building assembly plants in the US and using many American made components in their cars. At the same time American car makers were moving production of major mechanical components to Mexico, Canada, and Brazil, and outsourcing electronics from Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia, and other Asian countries. Beside that, the last few American made cars I owned (3 Fords, an AMC, and a Mercury) needed to be in the dealer's service shop almost as often as they needed washing.
When my son bought an Altima and drove it 8 years with zero mechanical problems I decided it was time to make a switch. I now have an Altima myself, which is a great car btw, and plan to eventually replace it with another Nissan. Or possibly a Honda or Toyota product now that Renault owns 40% of Nissan. My son, daughter, sister, and aunt all own either Nissans, Toyotas, or Hondas, and we are all very well pleased with the cars.
OTOH, my cousin and one of my close friends still hate Japanese cars and stick with a Cadillac Deville in one case and a Lincoln Town car in the other. Both cars are rolling disasters as far as reliability, but they still think we're traitors for buying reliable cars with Japanese nameplates, but which are made in Tennessee, Ohio, and Kentucky.