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The longest I drove my Detroit cars was five years. They all started giving problems that were too expensive and labor intensive about that time. I keep my Japanese cars a bit longer! I have owned my 1993 Nissan truck 22 years, and my 2005 Corolla ten years. I have put way less repairs in the truck in the past 22 years than I put in my Detroit vehicles in five or less. My Corolla has cost me no money in repairs. It's needed just two sets of tires and two batteries. I traded in a 1985 Nissan Sentra on my truck that only needed a new muffler after eight years of excellent service. I traded it in only because I wanted a truck!
The longest I drove my Detroit cars was 23 years. Very good reliability and longevity. And a lot more fun to drive than a Nissan truck!
Robots don't care where they are located and the production systems employed are the same all over the world. IMHO, it doesn't matter where the car is made.
However much of the final "put together" is done by human beans. Societal norms and differences do come into play.
I think in general the Made in Japan ones are better, but its not because of the workers. The made in USA Japanese cars tend to be exclusively for the North American market. As such, they have to be priced competitively and are often decontented compared to international versions. It's a trickle down, the car has to cost less so they can't spend as much on an interior, an engine, paint, etc. It's small, but it adds up.
Is there a USA manufacturer who offers a FWD compact or economy car or mini-suv, 4cyl equipped, that will last me 400,000 miles with only normal maintenance? To include electronics.
Doesn't exist because the 1st part that goes bad in these cars are the engine. Most American car companies are bad with small engine block designs. You're gonna have a leak problem around 100,000mi then followed by various fuel injection problems due to cheap components that causes the car to have poor starts. The only way for an American econo car to last 400,000 mi is through constant maintenance. They're econo so you have to change many of the cheap parts inside to make it last.
Which is why many people rather buy a 10 yr old Toyota vs a new US econo car.
Had a 6MT 2002 Maxima: WONDERFUL machine. Made in Japan.
Had a 6MT 2004 Maxima: WONDERFUL engine, shoddy car build quality. Made in US.
Had a 2008 Altima: Loved it. Took it past 200k miles, no issues. Made in US.
I don't quite think it matters where the car was geographically built...
The main factor is how close the manufacturing plant is to the engineering facilities. Availability of engineers to fix line problems has a measurable effect on quality.
Back in the day (1989 or so) when Honda had just started producing Accords in Ohio, a Honda specialist mechanic told me that, in his experience, Japanese build Hondas were way superior in terms of reliability. And that was my experience, too.
However, now, American-made Japanese vehicles appear to be just as reliable as the Japanese-made ones. Robots are robots, you know.
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
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I know Toyota only allows a couple of factories outside Japan to make Lexus, Ontario and now Kentucky. That said, I think it also depends on the model. My sister's Toyota Echo is the worst Toyota any of us have ever bought and it was Japan made. It had all lighting flicker off periodically and the serpentine belt has sounded like a screaming pig despite being worked on several times. Also the smaller engines don't seem to last as long as the bigger 2.4 liter ones in the Camry. I see a lot more old Camrys than old Corolla's or Echos/ Tercels despite similar sales numbers.
So my answer is.. Japan made is probably a bit better but the biggest factor is the model.
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. Especially ones falling right before the holidays
