Before the Accord, I had a 1997 Mercury Cougar (last year for the fullsize RWD V8 model) Very nice car, and served me well...until I moved to Michigan for school and needed something smaller, more economical and FWD. I was weary of the FWD sedans from the big 3, so I traded the Cougar in with approx. 150,000 miles for the 1996 Honda Accord (which was a year older, but only had 45,000 miles!) Few months later I bought my '01 Trans Am brand new. The Accord now has 164,000 and the TA is closing in on 60k miles. Both have been great cars.

I've also owned a 1988 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme coupe (very nice car for the year) which was my first car. Afterwards I replaced it with a 1995 Pontiac Firebird V6...which was an utter piece of junk and didn't have enough power to get out of it's own way. After 94,000 miles of constant breakdowns and repairs... I traded the Firebird in for the Cougar. The rest is history.

The Trans Am is essentially the same car the Firebird was, but It's been FAR superior mechanically! And a helluva lot faster... .

 

Crap, I left out my 81 Civic and 83 Accord! I bought a 1981 Civic wagon last December w/ 59k original miles. I drove it another 4,000 miles and just recently sold it to a co-worker who commutes in it every day with no problem. I did all of the basics (t-belt, hoses, waterpump, fluid changes, etc.) right after I bought it, and it started up every time and ran all day long like a champ. It'll probably run for another 20 years... lol.

I then bought a 1983 Honda Accord SE for cheap, with 177,000 miles. I drove it for a while with no problems (even took it out of town on a road trip) and sold it w/ 181,000 miles to another co-worker of mine who needed a reliable daily driver. It now has 185k miles and counting.

 

My last car was a '92 Civic DX. It was a pretty dependable car, but it did have some a/c issues. I drove it daily for 12 years. I sold it with 190k on the odometer and got the Accord.

Before that: '88 Jetta, then '74 Maverick.

My wife had an '88 CRX DX when we met. She put 112k on it, traded it in and got the '96 Accord LX.

 

I've had 2 Accords (totalled one), 1 Civic(didnt like the stick cause I was in Dallas), Ford Tempo (piece of shit) and a Cavalier which was a great car. all within the last 5 years, forgot about the 300ZX twin turbo I've had for 2 months.

The first accord which I totaled was an 02, my front tire busted by some sharp thing in the construction zone whith no shoulder while going 80mph but man the 5 star crash rating was for real. Now I have an 03 Coupe which Iam enjoing right now.

 

I chose the Accord because I was raised in a family where everyone owns a Honda. They have power generator, lawn mower, scooter, motorcycles, acura legends, integras, accords, well, and the list goes on and on. My first car was the accord 94 ex 4cyl, it was perfect. I wouldnt want to drive anything else because of its reliability and fuel economy. I had it for 3 years with just regular oil changes, it never let me down.
I got into two car accidents last year, the first one, I was T-boned and the right passenger door was stuck. While I was waiting for insurance settlement (about 6 months after), I was rear ended really hard and they had to take to me ER, luckily I was able to walk again hehehe. I cant believe it myself. The body and the chassis are really strong and the doctor said the car was able to absorb the forces from behind. If it was a civic, I could have lost a leg or an arm.
Well, with all the insurance compensation, I bought a 1998 accord 4cyl. I love this car to death because of its styling and driving experience. If I had more money, I would like to try the TSX, I heard it has the same chassis as the accord.

 

i drove a 92 infiniti g20 before,was a nice small car provided sufficient power.,, but total lost.. Now i am an accord owner

 

I think American cars break down so much because up until recently FORD, GM, etc. did not have to compete as largely with foreign vehicles, and people were still loyal to the names like Ford and Chevy.
With better gas mileage and comfort not to mention handling and reliability the foreign cars are forcing the way American car companies are doing business, they now have to look at ways to earn back their name and not seem so fraudulent. I think my Cougar was an attempt by Ford to introduce an American car with a European handling and feel, and I loved the car until it started to crap out on me. That, in itself, says Ford did not intend to make a car that was going to last. How would they the sell new cars if the old cars were made reliable? Drivers would not want to spend another 20 or 30 thousand for a new car if they can get another 5 years out of their older model. That is, unless the thing was breaking down and leaving you stranded every month…. Found On Road Dead….

I am hoping my Honda proves me right in that it is like the energizer bunny.

Fuax

 

While I agree for the most part with what you said, by no means are all American cars plagued with problems. Although build quality (among a few other things) has been a major issue, as has been discussed, poor reliability tends to be unique to certain makes/models. The 99+ Cougars were known to be problematic...even Ford admitted. My 97 Cougar was a great car. No, it didn't have the fit and finish and overall build quality of a Honda, but mechanically, it was fine. Save for some of their 3-liter V6s and AODX automatic transmissions... Fords can be reliable workhorses. The Crown Vics, F-150s, etc. all have a good reputation.

I've logged 60k trouble-free miles on my TA, and for the most part... the LS1 powered cars tend to hold-up much better mechanically than their predecessor.

 

i know a sexy japanese chick who just moved down here from hawaii and i've never once heard her say anything but jap haha funniest is when she says something like, "well i better get my jap ass to sleep" stuff like that. too bad she's got a bf or i would have tapped that by now

 

rocked a 90 corollla, then wanted a celica 90-93 but ended up gettin the honda. no regrets.