[rally]

I don't care one whit about prevailing public opinions on car manufacturers and their images. I grew up driving American cars even though my Dad kept pushing Toyota on me. I refused to drive anything but American cars back then.

My experience with many American cars finally pushed me to try something else. I tried several different Japanese cars, some German and even some Italian. My experiences with owning and driving all makes has led me to my current situation. One Subaru and one Honda. The Honda is my first Honda ever so I reserve judgement on Hondas at this point, but I do notice they have had a rusting problem. The worst cars I have ever owned have been Fords, and I have owned a lot of them. The best cars have been Subarus (honestly, my SVX has been the most reliable car I have ever owned). Regardless, I still have fond memories of most of my cars, some were just a little more problematic than others.

I do not rule out American cars automatically, but every time I own one I begin to notice some really poor quality in many areas. My relatives mostly drive current model American cars. Some are nice, most are not.

So I actually had to fight off my American manufacturer biased thoughts in order to try something other than American cars. American car quality is getting better, but I still believe they are behind several other companies, no matter what any study findings say. I form my opinions based upon my own real world experience with owning cars and consulting with my friends and family on their experiences.