Hey DC2011... and which vehicle did you purchase that's magical? And, help me with this; you say: You'd never purchase a vehicle from an American. And, just exactly why is this? Doesn't this make you a xenophobe? That's not nice.
Of course, your story is anecdotal. I'd love to tell you about the Toyota I bought that had nothing but trouble -- 7 (count 'em 7) timing gears stripped, the original paint job that peeled (twice!), 11 tires that exploded at highway speeds (OK, that was a Dunlop problem, not necessarily Toyota, altho they picked the tires for it) and various other problems. I finally junked it at about 25,000 miles (and way too many of those under tow). Now let me tell you about my Dodge Dart that ran for almost 200,000 and had about the same number of problems that you have had. It's not so simple as "your experience". Better to read Consumer Reports that shows the experiences of over 500,000 car owners each year. You'll find, of course, that many of the Japanese cars get very high marks in most every category -- but not ALL of them. Some don't do so well. And you'll find that the American car companies don't do so well, but not all. Some have some real winners that do every bit as well as the Japanese or Koreans or Germans (actually the Germans aren't do that well these days). Etc., etc. Just saying the car is "American" is a red herring.

 

Not fair. The Dodge Dart with the 225 cu in slant
6-cyl engine was special. Those things were tanks.
You could use'em and abuse'em all day long and
after a lick'n they'd come back kick'n. The old
Chrysler Torque Flight push button transmission
found it's way into many an NHRA dragstrip car
without any modifications what-so-ever.

 

OK, so it's a long time ago. And you're right .... they were indestructible (except for rust, but then Japanese cars in those days rusted even faster). But today's American vehicles are a lot better than the Dodge Dart was then. Recall how we had flat tires ALL THE TIME? And how you pulled the choke all the way out in winter, pumped the accelerator and prayed the engine would catch before the battery ran dead? And stepping on the gas stopped the windshield wipers? And how we had to have 'tune-ups' every 10,000 miles or so (with new spark plugs, wires, distributor cap, etc.)? And new thermostats each year (and with some twice a year). And regrinding the valves, and EXHAUST systems!! ... every 3 years without fail. And body work to try (unsuccessfully) to overcome the rot? And ... the list is long. Practically none of that stuff exists today. 100,000 miles before changing the spark plugs ... so generally once or maybe twice in the life of the car. Today's worst cars are better than the best of yesteryears, that's for sure.