I was reading another messageboard where people were debating domestic cars vs. japanese cars and what had better quality, etc. I've always gone by what I learned in my engineering and marketing classes that the "Japanese Quality" thinking is actually a myth that continues to this day based on poor US quality in the 80s.

EDIT: And I'm a dork for reading the chart wrong.
Still an interesting article.

http://www.autoblog.com/2006/01/29/j-d-power-releases-long-term-vehicle-dependability-study/

The awareness of the domestic quality, or whatever you want to call it, is being slowly coming into the light, like the Buick LeSabre. Thanks for the article.

It is a myth, to an extent. Hondas are pretty good cars. Toyotas are definately hit and miss. One thing is for sure though: US car parts ARE cheaper than Japanese parts when a replacement is needed. I know of one ignition module I pulled up for a mid '90s Celica that was over $200. Alternators for Japanese cars will kill you as well.

Something else to consider: Do-it-yourselfers mostly own domestic cars. If you diy and own a Japanese car, be prepared to have to special order parts from non-dealer supply companies.

Here in Mexico people love japanese cars, they seem to be more reliable and service costs are cheaper than american. japanese brands are too focused on customer service and american seem to be on the old paradygm of "if you need it you will have to pay blood"
i think is because some years ago, not many, american cars had dominated mexican market, and jap brands and some europeans need to steal this market from them, and even Honda has some politics, if somebody stole any external piece, they replace it for free.

Look at it this way. I read something the other day that last year Toyotas recall percentage went up 100% while Detroits (GM, Ford Chrysler) dropped over 60%

But yes American cars are still plaqued by the 80s and older. Some info for you The big three use to design cars to fail once they reached a certain age so you would want to go out and buy a new one. But you won't find anyone would actually confirm it though.

That wouldn't surprise me Herc.

Ditto. Now its biting them in the behind cause people want to buy foreign.

alex :p

Alex, back when I was working at an aotumotive shop, every now and then we would see an american car that was built in Mexico. Those cars were nothing like the real american made cars. I remember a Monte Carlo that came in and the starter was bad on it. It had a Bosch starter on an Chevrolet. Bosch starters were found on imports. Of course the first thing we did was get the correct starter for an American made Monte Carlo. It didn't fit. I had to go to an import auto parts store and spend time to match up the starter.
I don't know if the Mexican built American cars are still completely different from the American made American cars, but back in the day they gave me a couple of headaches.

HAHA... get ready for a lot of corrections alex.

I love this chart. A buddy of mine has a Volkswagen. I can rub this thing in his face

Thanks for the link about the commas!!

I think the quality of Mexican made and american made is the same by now.
A lot of brands are placing their factories here in Mexico, not just for the cheap hand labor.
I remember some years ago brands use to have the Export Edition and the Mexican Edition, and i know it was about quality, but now this editions are about equipment and metric systems (miles/kms)
Anyway i still like the most the american design.

Very good use of commas, Alex

The line has gotten closer but there is still some distance in quality and especially innovation. It’s depressing when we come out with something that is just to play “catch-up”.

“Japanese cars are better?” Well, how? How do they get better? What are the American automakers doing that are so bad? Is it that our manufacturing standards are pathetic?

These were questions I had. I found out that the American automakers standards are actually have very high standards. It’s just that the Japanese standards are more thorough. The main difference I see is we have health care costs to deal with. Therefore, they can’t focus that money to quality. The Japanese manufactures got workers w/ no life except for the cars+ engines. Less breaks, more hours, less holidays, e.t.c. Equates to great cars but at a price. You couldn’t pay me to enough money to work over there.

Note I’m being very general when I say American and Japanese. In reality, Nissan’s quality and reliability can only dream to be as good as a Ford F150.

Just another quick though:
Another factor could be focus. A huge amt of hours went into getting the exhaust to SOUND right for the Mustang GT. I'd prefer they focused on making sure the exhaust stays.

Also, after sitting in almost every car at the Detroit auto show, I left depressed. Some domestic interiors had really loose parts and noticeable cutting of corners. I was so optimistic but on some interiors I got up saying “why?! I mean, come on! Care a little!!” On the other hand, the Tacoma was solid and had no loose pieces. I was upset that some Japanese cars kept me thinking "hmm that makes sense to place that there..."

Tasty:
yup, that's exactly the way it is, but if you think about it guys, how many of the "foreign" cars are really foreign like in the past? Toyota trucks have enough domestic parts (domestic=made in america and assembled in america) to be allowed into the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, so not to piss anybody off, but I am beginning to wonder how much of our "domestic" cars really are domestic (i.e: my 1986 Chevy Nova was the exact same thing as a corolla, and if you looked, the light covers, among other things were labeled toyota, and it had an engine replaced with a toyota engine... we called it my "Chevota")

Just for that reason, I go by the standards used. Not by if its sold as a domestic or other. Anyone can assemble cars. It all depends on the quality of what they are assembling.

In the Auto industry today I really don't think you can label anything as import or domestic. Unless you start talking about low volume exotic builds.

You do have to hand it to Toyota and Nissan with building a full size truck to rival Ford, GM and Dodge. They actually have some size and the cubic inches in the powertrain to keep people happy.

It's like the Dodge Stratus I'm in the process of buying. It's a coupe and thus built with a Mitsubishi motor, tranny, and frame. The build sheet that I have for it even states; Major sources of foriegn parts: Japan 34%. Then again, they're owned by a German company these days. So, is Mopar really American anymore?

I don't personally get lost in the mechanics. I buy what I like, end of story. We even have a Toyota plant north of here in the state that employs plenty of Americans. To he west is the Corvette plant. One is just about as American as the other in perspective.

The difference between the Toyota factory and the Corvette factory is, the Toyota factory makes more money per car than the Corvette factory.
I don't know the actual numbers for the Corvette factory, but I've heard Toyota clear something like $2000 per vehicle while Ford sees a -$200 per vehicle.

Placing plants here is the strategy.

They hire American workers but the end profit goes to Japan.

But hey, a ton of our companies export work to other countries like India, China, Bangladesh, Mariana Islands. But I digress.

That's capitalism for ya