I bought a new Oldsmobile diesel station wagon. It ran for 27 miles and then stopped on a parkway. At 26,000 miles the injection pump again failed. I junked it at around 85,000 miles after it caught on fire. I bought a used 80 Pontiac diesel (thinking they had improved it). I lasted about 50,000 miles. I sold it for about $700 and they towed it away ( a connecting rod bearing went out).
I then bought a Honda civic which ran for 358,000 miles before the head warped. Someone bought it out of the junk yard and ran it for two years before abandoning it in Nevada. Since then I have driven Honda products.
You may draw your own conclusions.
My first new car was a Honda 600 (as in 600cc engine) Coupe. It was stolen at 170k miles, original engine. Since then every car but one has been Japanese and I retire them at 250k miles. (The '89 Accord was rebuilt by next owner and is probably still running.)
1. Buy Honda.
2. Add oil, gas, tires, and batteries.
3. Turn key and go from point A to point B for 13 years.
4. Probably will go for another 10.
5. Plus, it's an Accord station wagon, so I can carry a 10 foot 2x6 in it with the rear door shut!
My first (and last) U.S. auto was a 1970 Mach I. Fun as hell to drive (when it worked). Of course, it would never start when it rained, brakes were life-threatening, clutch linkage had to be replaced very so often, and it was almost impossible to change certain spark plugs.
Like Scarlett O’hara, I vowed, “If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill, as God is my witness, I'll never own a car again that refuses to start when it rains!”