My first car was an american made car and I had to replace the transmission TWICE! I got a 97 Nissan after that (in 02) and it lasted me until last August when I got a Scion (made by toyota). That might not seem like too long, but I wore that car OUT! I never took care of it and honestly, it should have died a lot sooner than that. I will never go back to an american made car..It will always be Toyotas or Nissans for me!