You'd think a guy that owned a Ford wouldn't succumb quite as easily to the Ford-bashing, "Japanese make cars better" attitude.
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I don't think Ford has anything on the road as safe as an Accord, Sienna or Odyssey
In NHTSA ratings (Driver/Passenger/Front-Side/Rear-Side/Rollover) the ratings of those cars was:
2005 Accord -- 5/5/4/4/4
2005 Odyssey -- 5/5/5/5/4 (with one major safety concern -- doors open on impact)
2005 Sienna -- 4/5/5/5/4
The Accord was bested by two Ford Passenger Cars:
2005 Five Hundred -- 5/5/5/5/4
2005 Crown Victoria -- 5/5/5/5/5
The Taurus, being a very old holdover didn't score well, but the Fusion likely will be at least comparable to the Accord.
The Odyssey and Sienna were roughly tied with Ford's Minivan:
2005 Freestar -- 5/5/4/5/4
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As far as initial purchase price, I agree that Fords are cheaper, but when long term costs of ownership are factored in, I think the balance tips toward teh Japanese cars.
Only when factoring in depreciation, because so many people think as you do -- that Japanese cars are superior automobiles, even though that conclusion bears no relation to reality.
Remove depreciation from the equation and you end up with equal or higher costs of ownership on the Japanese automobiles, primarily due to higher parts expense.
GM has been ahead of all but Toyota in quality for years, and Ford hasn't been far behind. Honda has been slipping lately and Nissan's gone to the back of the pack. In the latest JD Power Long-Term Reliability study 7 of the Top 15 brands were American including Lincoln at #3, and Buick and Cadillac and #4 and #5 respectively. Toyota was #6, behind 3 American brands and barely ahead of Mercury at #7.
Fact of the matter is that Detroit can, and does, make just as reliabile and safe car as Japan does, and at a cheaper price too. Does that mean that it's a better car though? Not at all. To make a car that is just as reliable and just as safe as the competition faced with the incredible overhead expense that American automakers are burdened with (by their own means) they have to make cuts, and they primarily do so in materials. They might last as long but they don't look or feel as good. They also make some stupid design, engineering, and business decisions.
And I say all that owning 2 "Japanese" cars myself and no Domestics; one made in Japan one not.
