Granted, there are things called cost of ownership. The average required maintenance costs count, big time. Forget the perception that a Camry or Accord is the cheapest car to own over the 100,000 mile duration, because it isn’t. Ever heard of a timing belt job? Those are factory amended service intervals that have catastrophic results if neglected. Those particular cars have what they are called interference valvetrains. In a nutshell, the valves bend from hitting the pistons when the camshafts jump time due to timing belt failure, thus needing a $1300 valve job. This happens to many unsuspecting owners, more often that you think. Keep in mind that you have to remove the cylinder head(s) inorder to perform such a labor intensive repair. A proper timing belt job hovers around $600 to $800 and consists of the belt itself, water pump, tensioner, camshaft seals, crankshaft seal, and about 6 hours of labor via Mitchell On Demand. On some certain import nameplate cars the timing belt job calls for extra parts such as a balance shaft belt, crankshaft position sensor, or camshaft position sensor compound the dollars because they are located in the timing cover area. So much for that nice fit and finish of your Japanese quality dashboard right?

Now let’s talk about my Oldsmobile Bravada, a domestic SUV that is beyond extinction, just like GM’s financial salvation. The vehicle has about 128k miles currently. Cosmetic workmanship and materials are a abomination to mankind. Every single control arm bushing squeak, door panel rattle, and stabilizer link clunk has rear its ugly head. It annoys me. The engine has a metal timing chain designed to last for the lifespan of the powertrain. My 4L60E tranny is one of the luckier production units, escaping the common sunshell failure with proper fluid exchange as per recommended (my 2003 TrailBlazer clone wasn’t so lucky). The Bravada’s most costly repair is the evil thermal fan clutch, a $200 part at Autozone and 1.5 hours of my time.

Hope this educates consumers on how car quality should be define.

You mean like the vast majority of American consumers who believe nothing but “imports are flawless, domestics are junk?” Like you?

i guess to each their own, but anyone looking for a car shouldnt look at overall satisfaction in their buying decision.

Kind of like the majority of mainstream media reporting on every scrap of negative news they can find about the D3, whilst passing on the same kind of lead about import companies whenever possible? Yeah, I agree. For the D3, it doesn’t matter how good their products get. They still have to fight the brainwashing going on every day that continues to tell the public that they’re making Corsicas and Escorts still.

The civic was way to slow on the throttle…damn v-tec engines. it felt like we were driving a tractor.
the corolla was too dull and boring to drive, the steering felt dead, the brakes felt as if it wasn’t actually stopping the car(compared to the other 2 because this was the last car we saw/drove).
Ford- good looking interior/anti-boring! Better steering, looks a LOT better, better wheel package. Newer than the rest. overall a better value! Thats why we got one!

ALL YOU HATERS CAN GO AND SUCK A BIG ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think Honda has gotten complacent over the past 5 years, and the current generation of their automobiles is not on par with cars being made by GM, Ford, or Toyota. They need to watch out, because once the American Lemmings figure this out people are going to start buying something else.

My experience with Honda is that their interiors don’t compare to the comforts of American cars. And the Hondas my family has owned have all failed in some major way within months of ownership whereas the few American cars we’ve had are still kicking and are well into the hundreds of thousands of miles. That’s just my experience. I don’t get it when people say everything in American cars “feels like cheap plastic.” I’ve ridden in those family-owned Hondas and they’ve felt no different than our American cars.

I really don’t get why people expect so much comfort from their car. As others have pointed out the percentage of income it takes to purchase a car has dropped DRAMATICALLY in the last 30 years. We’re all paying a SMALLER percentage of our income for a car, but are expecting MORE. That’s not inherently wrong, but when people vocalize their complaints so much . . . it’s just kind of whiny . . . Do any of you really appreciate how amazing the cheapest vehicles we have now actually are? How utterly complicated the manufacturing processes are? How challenging the economic conditions are? Anyway, I’m ranting, but I just thought I’d remind ya’ll that driving a Ford does not make someone “an idiot” because “everyone KNOWS” that Hondas are just SOOOOOO much better. Drive your Hondas. No one will think you’re stupid for doing so.

Yeah I misspelled that on purpose to circumvent the filters on this site.

Over 3 years, it has been 100% reliable, and as worn very well, though two minor interior bits had to be repaired (under warrantee). If Ford has made any strides in quality in the past 3 years, I would believe that they’ve achieved parity with Honda.

I haven’t owned a GM product for over 18 years, so I can’t comment on their quality.

That’s what my car’s been doing for 20 years, you drooling idiot.