With these differences becoming progressively negligible, and customers slowly beginning to take notice, automakers who have long set themselves apart for their quality -- especially Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda -- must find new selling points, Phillippi said.
This is interesting. The general feel amongst my friends and family is that although improving as a whole, Chevy, Ford, GM, Dodge, VW, Mercedes, Audi, etc still SUCKS in quality compared to what you can get in a Japanese brand.
Honda/Toyota used to be a night and day difference compared to other brands and I admit the gap seems to be shrinking. But it's NOT negligible yet. With reliability top on my list, I'll buy a Honda, Toyota, Mazda, Subaru. I'm hesitant to buy a Nissan, Mitsubishi, Hyundai, or a BMW. The rest, I say it's not worth the risk. I avoid Saturn, Chevy, VW, and Mercedes like the plague.
Another problem with Honda: they are being too conservative to jump on the sport wagon and the fast-back looking hatchback (think Mazda6 hatch or Scion tC) trend.