I drive a 10 year old Honda Accord, bought new, with over 175,000 miles on it with no major engine or drivetrain repairs that I'll keep until it falls apart. In my long life, I've never owned (or seen anyone else own) a single American car that has the performance and reliability track record of the Accord. And my wife drives a new Toyota Sienna which replaces a Mercury Villager she had for seven years (on which we had to replace the transmission after 80,000 miles) that crapped out with a little over 110,000 miles on it.
Funny thing; we bought the Villager against our better judgment, not wanting to buy an American vehicle because of the quality problems. The Villager line was essentially a Nissan (Japanese) design that Ford made under contract. True to American form, the Villager didn't live much beyond 100,000 miles.
This is the problem for American automakers. As a customer, when I have to pay as much for a new vehicle as I used to pay for a house, it damn well better last nearly as long as a house! American cars just don't cut the mustard anymore, and haven't for a long time!
I'd thought about buying a new Sienna this year, but decided to wait for the Hybrid version which will be out in a few years. Found a nice 2003 Town & Country LTD AWD, with low mileage, so that will hold us over until the hybrid Sienna comes along.
Good point. American cars don't last. How many 10 yearto 15 year old American cars do you see on the road that actually look decent?? Conversely, I see tons of 1988-1994 BMW's and Volvos that look almost new.
I always buy GM cars. Mine always seem to last far over 200,000 without any major problems. My oldest car (and most trustworthy) is a 1989 Pontiac Grand Prix. It has 198,00 miles, has been in 1 wreck, has been driven on dirt roads a lot (I live on a farm), and has had no problems exept for normal maintenance stuff like an alternator.