Reply #135: I'd disagree...

[MercutioATC]

In 1989 (o.k., a little more than 12 years ago) I bought a new Toyota Celica. A neighbor who worked at Ford and had just bought a new Ford minivan was pissed (the whole "Why would you send your money to another country?" thing).

I parked next to him and the fit and finish was no comparison to the Celica. Most of his body seams varied bt at least 1/8 inch over a 3-foot run. Mine were dead on over the entire car. I drove the Celica to 100k. I parked it for 3 years, put $200 into it, and it ran another 50k miles. A friend's nephew bought it and ran it ANOTHER 50k miles. I've lost track of it, but I trust it's been put out to pasture by now.

By comparison, my parents bought a new 1991 Escort wagon. The block cracked at 60k.