Ooops, forgot whose post I was responding to. Sorry to bring up such a sensitive topic. In any event yours is a nonsensical response, equivalent to me saying you have 4900 fanboy posts. I would never contend that.
It's not the number of posts. It's the single "Toyota is baaad" response. Every maker has problems, and Honda/Toyota/Subaru have not been immune. How is the assumption that because the Tundra has had some problems so will the Corolla any less nonsensical than the idea that the Corolla has not had problems in the past, so the odds are that it won't in the future?
All stats are historical. That is their nature. Predictions are based upon them, and looking at reports from outfits like Consumer Reports (one of a few sources of independant data) we can see that ALL cars have increased in quality over the last 15 years, and the gap between Toyota and Honda and the others has shrunk. Your odds of getting a long lived reliable car today are the best they've ever been.
But, many of the folks around here rarely consider "Big Three" products. Why? The quality of those products has increased. Is it a problem of perception? Perhaps somewhat. But, the Big Three are also still resting on the massive margins from large trucks and SUV's (and GM still bleeds red ink) and not investing in their compact car lines. The Focus is in many ways more interesting than a Corolla, but if you're looking for refinement in your boring everyday commuter, the Toyota has it in spades over pretty much everything else. The Mazda 3 should be easily matched by Ford's offerings (shared platforms) but Ford has no offering with the pizzazz of the 3.
Then The Big Three do come out with some great stuff, but the dealers get in the way. I visted a Dodge dealer and the last thing I felt like doing was buying a car. The Ford dealer was no different. High pressure, obvious lying and deceptive advertising run rampant in the business, and for some reason Big Three branded dealers seem to be worse.
As for being a "fanboy" you're mistaken. I am loyal to no brand past what I can see. I owned a series of Mercedes products based on the excellent service and driving experience they provided, but today Mercedes is at the bottom of the quality heap, so they are long off my list. Subaru, on the other hand, keeps my business as my positive experiences continue. I have nothing to go on but information based on prior experience, be it in the form of Consumer Reports, my own, or my friends, and others I might encounter.
Oddly, I have never owned a Toyota (BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Honda, Acura, Mazda, Subaru, Triumph, Chevrolet, Jeep, GMC, but not Toyota) and I'm looking forward to giving them a try. Besides, my wife really likes the car, and staying married is the real objective, right...
