What are your thoughts on other vehicle brands?

this is my first toyota, and I have to say I am very very impressed. Truck just feels solid, technologically advanced, fit and finish is great, and it saved my life. Ford has come a long way too however and I rank the two as the best mass auto-manufacturers today.

 

I had a 1960's Plymouth. Drove it about 70,000 miles through high school and college. Worst things that ever happened were a dead battery and a dead fuel pump. Not bad for a 25-35 year old car.

Then I bought a new Plymouth Neon. Drove it for about 170,000 miles. No memorable problems. It was a manual trans, DOHC engine, and I drove it pretty hard. Good car. If it hadn't been for a deer running in front of me on the interstate I would still be driving it.

Come to think of it, most of our cars (Plymouths, Dodges, Chryslers, Volkswagens, a Buick) were pretty reliable. Maybe it's how my family takes care of them.

 

I've had everything (Ford Ranger, Dodge Dakota x4, VW Jetta 1.8T, Saabaru 9-2x, Honda Accord, Mazda 6 hatch, now a Taco) and some were good, some were bad. My '98 and '06 Dakotas were great, my '01 was bad, and one I had ('00) I didn't have long enough to judge. My '88 Ranger S was a piece but it was my first so I have a soft spot for it. My Jetta was trouble free, same with my Mazda. I had the Accord for 5 months but it was an '01 and the most boring car I ever had. My Taco suits me well but it's not bulletproof either (weird fan noise, soft suspension, squeaky clutch). I really like Dakotas but with my longer commute they just are not efficient enough. My wife's had Fords, Saturn, Honda, Chrysler, and Mercedes - some good, some bad. My biggest problem is growing bored with cars and selling them at a loss to get a new one! I currently have a need to get a TJ Wrangler, but I'm trying to hold off until I pay off the Taco so it can just be a 3rd car toy.

My take is that every maker makes good cars and bad cars. The Japanese seem to be more consistently good, but sometimes are quite boring (there isn't a Toyota other than the Taco I could see buying). There's nothing like how a German car feels but if anything goes wrong it can be expensive. The Americans have more of a hit or miss (even within the same model year) but are getting better. My personal opinion is get the car that matches your needs and wants no matter what the badge is on the hood. You'll be more likely to be happy that way!

Oh, and I work for Honda, so you can see I really don't have loyalty to anyone!

 

Only owned 3 cars...

Just sold my first car, a 94' Chevy Corsica, after nearly 15 years and 130,000 miles. Never left me stranded but did have a few issues the biggest being the intake manifold gasket leaking, the EGR valve and alternator crapping out. There were a few other minor things. I got my money's worth out of it.

I've had my Honda S2000 since June of 02' and have put 72k miles on it. No problems other than the clutch master cylinder seal going bad in spring of last year and not enough sunny days to put the top down. VERY satisfied with it. Still puts a fat grin on my face when I drive it.

The Tacoma I've only had since November of last year. No problems other than not enough money for all the crap I want to buy for it.

 

Taco is my 3rd vehicle.

92 mercury sable - basically a ford taurus - great car and reliable...but drank fuel like none other
00 acura integra - fantastic car drove it to 130k miles with having to replace wheel bearings. everything else was reg maintence
05 taco - needed something that could move more than two people and laundry around - great so far - just needs an aal