2 cases were ruled fraud because the issue was hot, 1 person saw a way to get easy money and the other was an old woman who likely confused the pedals. There have still been thousands of complaints to the NHTSA, and it's not like people are going to complain without reason because they don't get anything.
The only reason you would buy a Toyota is because you're uneducated. They aren't bad. They're still fairly reliable, decently well built, and are pretty average cars. But that's it. They're just merely good. Every car today is extremely reliable. The gap between most and least reliable cars has shrunk significantly. all it takes for Consumer Reports to rate a cars reliability "Much worse than average" is a problem rate of 3%. JD Power's 3 most reliable brands are Porsche, Lincoln, and Buick. Toyota is still near the top, but so is Honda, Ford, Chevy, Hyundai, and Kia, their main competition. There isn't a real reason to buy one car over another for reliability. If you buy a Lexus, still one of the most reliable cars, chances are over 100,000 miles you'll have about to bring it to the shop about once for something other than expected maintenance. If you get a Land Rover, the worst rated brand, chances are over that same 100,000 miles you'll still only have to bring it in 3, maybe 4 times. That's still a reliable car. Every car is reliable, feature laden, and fairly decent to drive. this leaves it to other areas, such as style and emotion to be the deciding factor. That's where Toyota falls short. Say if you're deciding between a Corolla and a Honda Civic. On paper both have the same strengths and are a smart buy. If you drive both you would end up with the Civic because, while the Corolla has no major shortcomings, it's just doesn't excel or go above and beyond like the Civic. Being "good" just isn't good enough anymore. Eventually people will realize this.
Patel: Funny, your statement about Mercedes, BMW and Audi couldn't have been more wrong. What you said goes directly against JD Power. I really you doubt you've tracked millions of cars reliability. Mercedes was one of the best brands and in the top 10. BMW was in the middle, and Audi was near the bottom. Still, either one is going to be a great car. The Mercedes C-Class is awesome, the BMW's, with the exception of the 3 series and X5 are fat and ungainly, but still technically very good. Audi may rank the worst in reliability, not a major issue, but they have some of the best looking models. Me? I'd buy a Saab. I don't buy a car because it was reliable 15 years ago. I buy what's good today. With every new model year comes new cars and the reliability fluctuates. It's like saying you wouldn't buy a Focus because the Pinto, well, you know. Modern cars cannot be compared to ones from the past.
Just like Jeremy Clarkson said, "[When you say] All I want from a car is reliability, thats like saying all you want from a girlfriend is punctuality". A car is much more than something to drive you places. It is an expression of who you are. It says things about you. What do you think when you see a man in a Mercedes? Or Corolla? Probably pretty different. A car can be a performance driving machine meant to thrill you with every corner, or it can be a sanctuary, isolating you from the outside world to ease your voyage. Modern technology and engineering has made literally every car reliable. In the past there was a huge gap between most and least reliable. Now it's been erased. Enjoy it. Now if you want a reliable car, unlike the past you aren't stuck with a boring, tedious little Japanese car without a hint of inspiration or passion.
And it most certainly was not a conspiracy. Come on, the media has been lashing the Big 3 for years. Before this I can't remember a time when they weren't.
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