i've bought one vehicle in my entire life. a toyota tacoma 4x4. 160,000 miles later i've replaced gas, oil, tires, brake pads, and two tie rod ends. seriously. original clutch, u-joint, wheel bearings, axel shafts, rotors...
i did replace the suspension because the stock stuff just wasn't up to hard landings.
this truck has been amazing. i've never been stuck even with open diff's front and rear. i get it airborne on a weekly basis and it only wants an occassional tie rod end and an alignment.
the paint looks nearly good as new.
i can keep up with most of the civic tuner cars off the line, and being a little crazy can usually show them the tailgate through the bends.
i'm planning on a major rebuild at 200,000. long travel suspension, dana 60, wide body fenders, 36" ground hawgs!! hopefully supercharged 4.0 v6. (gotta find someone good with schematics for the re-wire.) and i have no doubt that this thing will tick unaltered and un-broken down til then.
put me down for toyota!!
ps... everything but the motor and tranny were built in california. all the comsumables (air filters and such) are all made in the usa. and for the machinist types who bemoan that toyota builds all the skilled labor parts overseas, toyota built a plant in alabama that makes the tundra v-8.
plan on more american cars being made in mexico. american companies have built cars in canada because of the favorable exchange rate. but the canadian exchange rate is hovering around it's historical lows. meaning there isn't as much advantage to canadian labor as there has been in years past.
i'm taking kawasaki for motorcycles. but i have to admit, that new yamaha r6 is pretty sweet. hopefully kawi will answer next year.