My personal experience is that I have fewer problems with Japanese cars. This experience is in line with the findings of Consumer Reports subscribers who complete the Annual Auto Survey. Overall, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and now Hyundai rank better than the American brands. Select American brands do well but many of those are based on Japanese platforms (Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, etc.). American-made trucks fare better and some nameplates, such as Buick, perform well. Last time I rode by a Buick dealership, I didn’t see people clamoring to get in, however.

To say that foreign car buyers are ignorant is to say the customers of auto manufacturers are ignorant–which is what GM (Government Motors), Chrysler, and Ford have been saying for years. They’ve paid the price for having that attitude. Deny it all you want, but buyers of expensive products vote with their feet.

And those feet have left Chrysler and GM in the dust.

Check out the April 2009 Consumer Reports Auto Issue on page 14 (”Japanese automakers get the highest marks”.)

Reliability by Brand (Top 10):
Scion
Acura
Honda
Toyota
Lexus
Infiniti
Subaru
Hyundai
Mitsubishi
Kia

The survey includes data for 1.4 million vehicles. This compares to the data you offered: Zero vehicles.

Bagged another goonion member.

The foreign car buyer is the ipod buyer, is the trendy jean buyer.. is the do what other people are doing and it makes me cool type. I know many.. and it’s quite funny the reasons they give. All parroting each other.

It is said in basic tax language and concepts that for every good thing the governments does, it does something bad. It’s the “ying yang” theory of government taxation. As for determining whether it is a good thing or not is to measure the net effect of the good and the bad done by the policy.

This “cash for clunkers” has managed many bad things. Number 1 it’s opening up an opportunity for American’s to get into another credit crisis within the auto industry much akin to the housing industry. It is evident by people trading in good running paid off vehicles to have a new car with a payment.

Number 2, this plan has a very poor chance at achieving economies of scales in the long run. It may be a short boost in the short term, but when the money is out, then what? You have American’s left with payments and car companies not knowing what to do next.

Number 3, We are borrowing more money and spreading to programs not necessary in the current economic situation. If you think for a second that deficit gap was big before the stimulus you are in for a big surprise. Americans will be paying for all of this likely past our lifetime and into the next generation in taxes. The more money we borrow for such frivolous programs meant to satisfy constituents who take actions for face value, the worse off we are as a society.

This program is Obama’s way of appeasing his voters with the “let’s do something just to do it because something has to be changed” mentality. That’s all. Alas, we will all pay for it.

– Family of 5 owning a Ford Explorer for 13 years and 155k-plus miles, bought new, been paid off for years and thoroughly worn out, with less than $1500 trade-in value and, although mostly dependable, in need of $1500-plus in repairs. Pity… it would have made decent transportation for someone.

– Been planning on a new family car purchase for the past couple of years. The Fed’s hocus-pocus creation of C-4-C came along at the right time for us.

– Was surprised to see that the Feds, in standard bureaucratic operating wisdom, EPA-rated our Ford at 16 mpg, qualifying for C-4-C. That car never acheived less than 19-20 mpg overall. This model is the number-one C-4-C trade-in.

– More surprise to learn that mid-size SUVs also qualified as the new car purchase. We only had to better our trade EPA-mpg by 2 mpg. This is the “special intrest group pleasing” legislative mentality that you get with Community Organizers in charge.

– The biggest surprise: the C-4-C program wasn’t limited to Detroit products, which seemed like the neediest recipients for such help, but what do I know… I’m just a taxpayer. We bought a made-in-Alabama 2010 Honda Pilot, qualifying for the $3500 incentive. Since we were in the dealerships in the weeks before the program started, we were able to get a deep discount off MSRP before going for the C-4-C money.

– Two last points: My household has already paid far more than $3500 in federal income taxes so far this year. As for future visits from the repo man… we work hard and often sacrifice to make good choices in life, and because of that don’t live in a world where that is an option, let alone a threat.

This program is just another way to sell people into a lie… that down the road will need another lie and another program to “fix” the first program that was in place to “fix” the auto industry. It is all just a huge game.

This is going to help them create “emergencies” down the road that they will have to continue to “come to the rescue” and “fix.”

However, the government can’t fix crap… but they’re good at letting it fall out of their mouths.