Howard Ferstler wrote:

I have owned American, German, and Japanese cars, and the
latter were way, WAY more durable than the two former.

http://money.cnn.com/2005/03/04/pf/a...ex.htm?cnn=yes

DETROIT, March 4 (Reuters) - Japanese automobiles are the true kings of
the road, judging by the latest annual "Best Cars" issue of Consumer
Reports magazine, which hits newsstands next week.

All but one of the vehicles in the magazine's list of "top picks" in 10
different categories for 2005 are Japanese. The exception is Ford's
small-sized Focus sedan.

Japanese vehicles also score a clean sweep on a list of 21 vehicles that
Consumer Reports says it can recommend because they earned "very good"
or "excellent" scores in all five major ratings areas it tested.

The recommendations are important since the spring auto issue from
Consumer Reports, which accepts no paid advertising or free samples of
the products its reviews, has long been seen as a trusted shopping guide
by many U.S. car buyers.

Anything that could accelerate the rate of defection away from Detroit's
mass market automakers is clearly bad news for the likes of General
Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. as they continue to lose market share to
fast-growing foreign rivals.

The Big Three can take solace, however, from a Consumer Reports survey
showing for the second consecutive year that the average domestic car is
more reliable than its average European counterpart.