3rd Jun 2015, 17:40
Made in USA Toyotas have increased production. Not who spun a wrench. I feel the earlier low production ones we owned had far less problems. They were made in Japan. During the warranty period we didn't have any recalls and a need to go to the dealer. So it's praise with former new ones. Not today. Hope that clears the point of manufacturing having no bearing on quality.
4th Jun 2015, 08:18
Both my father and I had a series of new large domestic sedans as company cars working for a large company. The various GM and Ford company cars rolled right along with us for decades. They were properly maintained on a rigid maintenance schedule. Personally I am in a Quick Lube center every month. Not a typo. A lot of driving as part of the job seeing customers. The only ones that stood out with issues were Chrysler. Vehicles are kept 60k, and sometimes longer. Many are bought later by other employees. The key is great maintenance. Filters, and fluids including trans. Some people wait for a problem, but if you are proactive with maintenance, cars last. Even all through the 80s.
The larger domestics seem to have an easier life with all day driving. Heavier duty drivetrains. Since none of these vehicles were personally owned, there's no bias.
The only comment today is there are so many amenities in cars today to have minor issues. We either have loaner cars or use Enterprise on occasion. All in all, through the 80s and 90s, new large domestic cars were fine. Cannot speak for small models first hand from that era.
2nd Jun 2015, 07:50
On a luxury review like this, I would expect to be reading a higher end GM comparison vs pennies a day. Or maybe drift off to a Tesla Model S. I do like that car. Are there any of those plugged in at your work once in a while? Much further range and a great car to drive to address the heavy air pollution in some cities. Plus you get the tax break.