Reply #56: One problem with the interchangeable parts you speak of...

[susanna]

...when you get a recall, you go straight down the tubes. It's 500,000 vs. 20,000 vehicles recalled.

Actually, the domestics found this out the hard way - they were the first ones to consolidate their parts to smaller numbers of suppliers. I'm willing to bet that Toyota and Honda will learn, in their own time, how risky that interchangability is.

On edit: clarity