I can't add all that much to your trenchant but accurate observations, Kell, but I'll try anyway
.
While here and there, some U.S. models perform well and are not unreliable, on the whole, the quality of most U.S. automakers is poor when compared to Asian cars. Now, not everything 'foreign' is automatically good. German cars, for all their crowing ads about
"fine German engineering" are notorious for poor reliability and high repair costs. I have a friend with over 20 years in the auto sales and auto repair business and he says that German cars (Audi is the worst) and Chrysler Corporation cars are nightmares in regards to repair work. Don't even
think about buying one of those cute Chrysler Sebring convertibles. He claims they are a headache and won't even buy them at auction to re-sell because of customer complaints after the sale. So it goes.
While I had a splendid experience with my '90 Mustang, that was an already-proven body and drivetrain and I maintained it well. I found the build quality to be excellent, for the most part. Good for me, but I know many late-model Mustang owners are not as sanguine about their Mustangs quality and that would make me hesitate to dump some 25 G's into a new one, no matter how high the HP rating or how sweet the exhaust sounds.
As you know, I bought a new Honda Civic last year and have had zero problems wih it, except for a slow-to-rise driver-side window (when it was very cold out) which Honda repaired by replacing the window regulator, under warranty (and gave me a free '05 loaner while they did it). The build quality on the Civic is excellent. It was manufactured in Canada and only the automatic transmission is from Japan, for what that's worth. Unlike some American cars, the Honda Civic will hold about 60% of it's original cost over five years, which is fantastic. Frankly, even with the lack of real performance, the Civic is mostly pleasant to drive, if not exciting.
The current financial plight of the Big Three U.S. automakers is mostly a product of their own making, along with a terrible lack of foresight on their part. It isn't just obscene executive salaries, inflated worker costs or any other whipping boy the media comes up with. All of those add up, of course, but your original point remains valid: it's the
lack of quality. A new car is a huge investment and people get mightily P.O''ed when that expensive new car breaks down and then turns out to have a crappy re-sale value, later. A buyer feels screwed over and resents it, big-time. When the Japanese (and other foreign manufacturers) presented a viable alternative, they went for it.
20 years ago I never would have even
considered buying a Japanese car, economical or otherwise, Today, I own one, and not only that...I like it. Not because of advertising or any need to follow the herd but because they have been proven to be a solid value and worth the money, if that is the kind of car what you want. U.S. cars don't compete successfully with them, even as they keep trying. Your observations of the long string of failed Ford car models is a sad but all-too true example of the inability of U.S. manufacturers to do what's needed. I have discussed this with that car dealer/mechanic friend and he believes that the bloated U.S. auto manufacturers have such high overhead, from real estate costs, to federal, state and local taxes, to high employee salary and benefits (including the executives) that they
have to cut corners to make a profit that will attract investors. Well, if that's the case, it ain't workin'.