Just because I drive a Toyota? Give me a car I can rely on and I'll drive it. Before my toyota, I had a Jeep Grand Cherokee 2001. at 37k miles, the tranny started going out. The brakes sucked, the 4x4 sucked. before that, I had a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee - same thing, bad tranny We had to have it rebuilt, and to this day it won't start without you putting it into drive, reverse, drive again, then back into park... only then will it start. Also, the engine was always having problems. Before that, I had a 1994 Chevy Suburban. Don't even get me started on that one. It was a nightmare. Before that, I had a 1996 Pontiac Firebird. Blew a head gasket at 47k miles. It's a sports car, I shouldn't have to baby the throttle every time I drive it, although 95% of the time I did... it was for commuting and I would only push it like 5% of the time. Overheated once and seized all the bolts. Had to throw the engine out and get a new one.
I've been in construction for a number of years, and have seen how terribly made the 90's ford trucks were. It's just one huge disappointment after another. I had a construction friend who had to have his transmission replaced/rebuilt 8 times before it was reliable, and even then it sounded like a wailing animal under the hood.
No one can debate that the honda civic, although a rattle trap, is the most reliable vehicle on the market. Both Honda and toyota have it figured out. 250k miles with nothing but oil changes is amazing. When the American automakers start producing vehicles with the same reliability, then I'll buy one.
The only thing that gets me looking at a Ford again is because they didn't receive any bailout money. Instead, they lowered all of their heating systems from 72 to 68 degrees... they took 1/3 of all their light bulbs out of their facilities... all to save money. It's honorable in my opinion, and I would probably be willing to set aside my reservations about Ford's quality to support them as a company trying to make it.