Japan In Decline? What Country Best Symbolizes "Quality" In The Automotive Realm?

It all depends how you, the reader, defines "quality." Some possible criteria:
- Few initial defects
- Few repairs required
- Durability (can last a long time with "reasonable" maintenance)
- Doesn't rust
- Fit and finish
- Resistance to degradation (e.g., does it squeak and rattle after 50,000 miles?)
- Luxurious or exotic finishes
- Luxurious or exotic styling
- Noteworthy handling
- A stratospheric price tag few can afford (AKA exclusivity)

As you can see, the term "quality" is very subjective. Personally, I don't care to engage with others in pissing matches about which car is "best" or has the highest "quality." My only concern about a car is how suitable is it for *my* needs and desires.

009 this article has way too many big words for you to have actually read it.

LOL.. but the words I can read make valid points.

Right now the up and coming is Korea IMHO.

Why? They can copy and learn from the mistakes of others.

The true test is how long you can stay on the top and innovate.

Toyota is the first to tell you the will not innovate but prefer to refine existing technologies and bring them to market. That philosophy will get you to the top quickly, but will not keep you there.

The best scenario is going back to caveman times:

The Japanese will have the best pair of sticks to rub together and make fire. The best wood, the proper size and the best process to make it work almost 100% of the time.

The Germans will have a matchbook.

To say that Koreans copy and learn from others' mistakes smacks of cultural bigotry. Decades ago, Hyundai borrowed from Mitsubishi, but these days it is NOT copying from elsewhere and fixing the mistakes. If that were true the Genesis would handle as well a a BMW 5 Series (instead of nearly as well) and it would have better reliability (which it does).

@009 Go back and read @ TheSteve. Quality is in the eyes of the beholder. There is a huge segment of the market (not members of this site) that wants a transportation machine, not a car. The Japanese have that market. Those folks will buy Honda, after Honda, after Honda. Actually they lease them for ridiculous low rates because the residual value of those machines is so great banks are not risking much. The Koreans (so far), Germans(see VW) and the Americans can't match that resale value. Note the word value and high. Makes a difference. The German matchbook is over engineered and prone to getting wet and then doesn't work.

Quality is in the eye of the beholder, but it will always be who holds the best balance of the above mention traits.

It doesn't do much good to have the fastest and best handling car if sits on the side of the road after breaking down.

It doesn't do much good to have the best reliability if you get injured in a minor fender bender because of cost cutting of air bags.

Yes the Japanese have the market right now, but so did the Americans at one time and looked what happened. Don't think for a minute all of these recalls are falling on deaf ears. Overtime the seeds of doubt will be planted and the offspring will be the one moving to other brands. This is exactly what happened to the American automakers. The parents still bought Buicks and the children bought Hondas. The parents are no longer driving but the kids are having kids and are now hearing all of the issues with American and Japanese vehicles.

If the senate passes a bill to force repairs on recalled vehicles (by the seller or buyer) before issuing a title, then resale will plummet for those that have parts backlogged or no longer available. (talk about a horror scenario)

The price of cost cutting will then fall back to the consumer who placed their faith in a company betrayed them.

or is is Perez Hilton and gossip

Get ready for the fall from grace for Japan if this continues. If the trend continues all of the manipulation of the Yen to make them cost competitive will have no affect.

have no "effect" dear.....EFFECT!!

Agent009..still bitter and still twisted ..

The major problems are that Japan is suffering from radiation on the Eastern part of Japan, and the government is making sure that no one knows about it. Thanks to this, more and more rich Japanese are moving to the Western part of Japan, or just moving out of the country, as radiation from Fukushima keeps leaking out. Who would want to live in a country like this?

And the current government is quite nationalistic, and Anti-Korean sentiment in Japan is heavily growing nowadays all thanks to them. I think this has a lot to do with Samsung beating Sony, Hyundai getting on the nerve of Honda, Nissan, etc.

And also, it's very unfortunate, but the Japanese themselves do not really consider their own luxury cars as "luxurious", such as Lexus. The Japanese also obviously prefer the German cars, or Italian.

And even though I have driven a lot of Japanese cars, I personally thought the American cars have better interior (At least the SUVs) than the Japanese.

And this Takata thing is just out of control.

@009 You are assuming it was cost cutting. It may have been, by the supplier, not necessarily Honda, Toyota, or any other manufacturer that used their products. Or it may a new material that was not or could not be age tested for the effects of long term exposure to humidity. Previously you were shocked that the Takata air bags used an explosive. All air bags use an explosive. That is how they all work. A controlled explosive. But explosive mixtures are tricky.

When the Chinese get their quality at or near the levels of the Japanese they will eventually take the transportation machine market, because their costs will be lower.

If you want to buy a car that is going to last a long time. Japanese is still the best bet.

Here is one thing to consider, is the majority of car quality problems coming from transplant factories HERE in the U.S. The Camry is built here; Honda Civic and Accord here; many other so called "foreign" vehicles are built in the U.S. or Mexico. Subaru, Mazda, VW, etc. So are they really as "foreign" as people believe.