Are Japanese Cars Really Better Than American Or French Cars?

Yes! Yes and yes!  Toyota don't break a sweat at 250,000 miles! Show me how many american cars top that?  Once in awhile you'll find an exception< but japanese cars seldom deliver less than that and often more! Ever have to change idler arms, center links and ball joints on a toyota?  Ask the man who's had 3 and will buy another!

Japanese cars are superior in technology but sometime they are better but sometimes they aren't.
Take the New Nissan GT-R, this is a fabulous car which is faster round the nurburgring than a Mercedes Mclaren SLR, It has a 3.8 litre V6 with 493BHP. But a Nissan cube is uglier than a war wound and about as complicated as a piece of wood. The americans do not realize that there are actually bends in rounds so all their cars are woeful. French cars are relatively consistant. The french are one of the best in the world at making hot-hatchbacks. The Renaultsport clio, megane and twingo are fabulous cars.

So sometimes the Japanese make a better car, But sometimes the French Make a better car.

Yes. The Japanese have built superior products since the early 80s. French cars are nothing to write home about though. Peugeot used to sell cars in North America but were forced to stop because they were so unreliable - people absolutely hated them.

There are many reasons that the Japanese build better products than Americans and it has to do with their whole culture. The Japanese plan ahead for decades instead of just looking at the next fiscal quarter like they do in America. The Japanese examine every piece that will go into one of their cars to try to figure out where problems might arise and fix them before they happen. They are innovative and have seen the benefit of building fuel efficient and durable engines long before high fuel prices. BUT the single biggest reason is ARROGANCE.

The executives in charge of American auto companies only cared about themselves and their big fat salaries. They did everything possible to cut corners and cut costs to make even more money for greedy shareholders. They squeezed their parts suppliers so bad to cut costs that the only way to do so was to build inferior parts that would break long before they should. The American consumer suffered and took notice of their neighbours driving Toyota's for hundreds of thousands of miles problem free. The Japanese saw the long term benefits of building durable cars back in the 80s and now they are reaping the rewards. They are selling more cars than ever and the American automakers are in serious trouble. Pick up a Consumer Reports annual auto edition and read for yourself and compare the reliability ratings of US cars vs. Japanese cars and pay particular attention to the vehicles over 3 years old. Long term durability is the big question - ignore those "initial quality" reports by J.D. Power and Associates that only study durability for the first 90 days. Those reports are ridiculous.

I have a 2000 Honda Civic DX HB that is at about 140,000 miles and still going strong. Had it two years and it has very minor problems compared to those cars I had in my youth. Mostly Chevy cars and all burned out at 100,000 miles, or ten years old.

This car I have now is the best I have ever had.

I wouldn't say so because I only buy american have for over 25 years now as you can see buy my avatar...as they say I would rather push a chevy than own anything else....

Look at toyota now.  Over 8 million recalls and they still don't know whats causing the problems.  After the recall people are experiencing the same problems as before. :)