I think the era of "Japanese dependability" and "American engineered obsolescence" is over.
This is all anecdotal, but my last two American trucks have gone a total of 160,000+ miles w/out a serious repair (engine idle control unit on the Ford went out, no big deal). The Toyota P/U I owned previously was good, but did suffer some glitches after being submersed in the Colorado River.
On the other hand, my wife's Civic was a pile of turds, my Kawi ZX1100 had a $500 starter fail, my Suzuki RF900 had an alternator coupling bearing come apart (sending bits of metal into the engine oil), and my Yamaha WaveRaider 1100 burned up the 3rd cylinder repeatedly.
I no longer feel like Japanese machinery is inherently better than anybody else's. Anything you buy could fail. Another factor to consider is the relatively low prices and ready availability of replacement parts for American cars.
