In article , D Murphy wrote:

SNIP before that, mostly previously quoted material

What is "quality"?

Is it a reliable uninspired too small econobox sold at a premium price
due to its carefully cultivated reputation of reliability?

Is it a big heavy car sold at a premium due to its prestigous marquee,
prone to the occasional expensive failure but made out of nicer stuff
with a better ride and more comfort?

Or is quality making the car exactly to the blueprint tolerances no
matter the end result? A perfectly machined and assembled Yugo is still a
Yugo.

Is quality performance, comfort, ride, economy, reliability, or
reputation?

Or is quality a car so beautiful that you can't take your eyes off of it?

Who is responsible for quality? Management, Design, Engineering,
Manufacturing, or Inspection?

Toyota might mean quality to you, but in my case it was one of the most
miserable POS cars that I've ever owned. That singular experience has
tainted my view of anything they make.

Call your Toyota dealer and tell them your Camry spun a cam bearing, or
needs a water pump, or has a blown head gasket. Then ask them if they
have any experience fixing that problem. See what they say. I'll bet they
won't tell you that they've never had to make that repair before.

A fuse, a bolt, or a nut is either made to the required specs or it
isn't. Quality isn't subjective at all. An automobile is another matter.

I am rather fond of Honda Civics, even owned one.

As for ask the dealer whether they have experience fixing a specific
problem or another - I think most have plenty to fix. I would distrust
one getting few repairs or claiming to get few repairs even more than I
would distrust "stealerships" in general.

I think one measure of quality is how many miles on average the car
lasts before it gets scrapped, and another is per-mile cost of repairs
on average before it gets scrapped.

Of course, these are not exclusive of other things, such as:

* Is fuel economy good for a car of such size, weight and engine size and
cylinder count?

* Is acceleration, both at low speed and at freeway speed, good for a
car of such size, weight, engine size and cylinder count?

* Does the car corner well? Does it feel well when cornering, or does it
require you to get "sea legs" (and steering skills) for it, like a late
1980's Olds Cutlass Ciera or similar car?

* Does the car ride nice and quiet?

* Do the climate control and accessories work well?

* Does the car leak or not in a rainstorm?

* How do the above fare after 100,000 or 175,000 or whatever miles?

* Crash safety?

* Crash costliness, such as cost of repair after some specific low speed
crash (such as 5 MPH hitting a wall or a pole - for some time in the past
in the USA, cars were required to hit a solid wall forward or backward at
5 MPH with no need for repairs, now that's 2.5 MPH)

I do remember how a Yugo back when its sticker price was $39xx (IIRC)
was found to suffer $2600 or so in damage from a 5 MPH crash test, IIRC
from hitting a pole at such speed (I do not remember well which end was
the bad end to hit at such speed).

* How is the functionality design of things such as optical design of the
legally required lights? How well do the headlights help you see what
you need to see? Do they do so with less glare to oncoming drivers?
Are the tail/brake lights well-visible without being glary or
distracting?

* Does a car get better in above areas without being ugly like a beached
obese whale?

- Don Klipstein )