Japanese Vs. American Cars

Kipper at Card Mart talks of Japanese vehicles possibly being used in NASCAR. I'll leave the commentary on whether or not "Jap" cars will "ruin" the sport to others. I'll also leave it to others to explain that it is not truly a sport, I mean driving a car in a circle making only left turns is not sport. But I digress.

Kip asks "Are Toyotas better than Fords?" In a word, yes.

My Ford was made in Canada and my Toyota was made in Tennessee. In my opinion, the Toyota and the Ford weren't even comparable. The only similarity is that they were both small trucks and the comparison ends there.

The Toyota lasted to 125K miles without doing anything to it but change the oil. I sold it to my brother who got about 30K before he sold it. I'd imaging it's still running.

My Ford on the other hand was lacking from the day I bought it, less pickup, knobs breaking, tougher to change the oil, etc. I sold that thing before I hit 30K miles.

I currently own a Jeep Liberty as they are made in the US, but my previous vehicle was a Nissan and my wife drives a Mazda.

I always find it amazing when debating this topic with union members. I say that the American union personnel are making a good living from the Japanese cars being made in America while they sing the praises of American corporation cars. They don't see that American workers suffer for every Ford or GM car being made in Mexico or Canada. Even the United Auto Workers site says that they are made in the US and Canada.

Face it Kip, the Japanese just make a better car than Americans. The reasons are many starting with quality control which has grown out of the theories set forth in post war Japan by W. Edwards Deming. Other reasons are corporate policies such as inspecting the parts prior to installation and a different corporate attitude that instills a different mindset.

Ride in a Lexus then ride in a Lincoln and you tell me they're comparable. Do the same with a Nissan Murano and a Ford Explorer.