America VS. Japan: Who Makes Better Cars?

American vs. Japanese: Who Makes Better Cars?

When looking for a car, people generally want the best one they can afford.  So it’s no surprise that different magazines and car experts give out awards or create lists of the best cars for the year.  This can help the consumer pick the best car for his money.

Both American made cars and Japanese made cars are popular on the road.  So that begs the question, who makes better cars?

Thanks to the car experts, we can compare Japanese cars and American cars and see which one comes out on top.

The Safest Cars

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s 2010 top safety picks, American made cars are safest on the road.  While Japan only has four cars on the list, America has six!

Which cars made the list?

American Cars:

• Dodge Avenger
• Chrysler Sebring
• Chevrolet Malibu
• Lincoln MKS
• Ford Taurus
• Buick Lacrosse

Japanese Cars:

• Honda Civic
• Hyundai Sonata
• Kia Forte
• Toyota Corolla

So the Americans take the gold in this round.

Cars with the Best Value

This time we go to US News’ Best Cars for the Money 2010 to find out who makes the cars with the best value.

This time, Japanese cars won out.  When looking at the Japanese and American cars that won their class, Japan has six wins compared to America’s two.

Here are the cars that won their classes for best value.

American Cars:

• Chevrolet Corvette
• Ford Taurus

Japanese Cars:

• Nissan Versa
• Hyundai Elantra
• Acura RL
• Toyota Camry
• Hyundai Genesis
• Mazda MX-5

So, the score is now tied 1-1.

The Most Dependable Car

A total of 46,000 original car owners of 2007 models were surveyed for J.D. Power’s Most Dependable Vehicle Survey 2010.  These owners revealed how many problems they had with their various cars.

America gets another win.  Five American cars were included on the list while there were only three Japanese cars included.

And the cars that made the list are:

American Cars:

• Mercury Montego
• Chevrolet Monte Carlo
• Lincoln MKZ
• Cadillac DTS
• Buick Lacrosse

Japanese Cars:

• Toyota Prius
• Honda Fit
• Mazda MX-5

That makes the score 2-1 in favor of American cars.

The Cars That Satisfied Owners the Most

Again, we thank a J.D. Power’s review, but this time for their Customer Satisfaction Survey.  When looking at the winners of their classes, the Japanese cars took this event.  They won two of their classes while the Americans won one.

Which cars made the list?

American Cars:

• Ford Taurus

Japanese Cars:

• Hyundai Genesis
• Nissan Maxima

The score is again tied 2-2.

Best Car Resale Value

The tie-breaker is the car with the best resale value.  For this list we go to Cars.com’s Best Resale Values in 2010.  American cars had one car in the top ten, while Japanese cars had four.  So the Japanese take this category as well.

The cars on this list include:

American Cars:

• Ford Mustang

Japanese Cars:

• Mazdaspeed 3
• Honda Fit
• Toyota Prius
• Honda Insight

When all the scores are added up, we find that Japan makes the better car.  Out of five categories, Japanese cars won three.

Interesting Trivia about the Winner–Japan and Its Cars

Japan is one of the most expensive countries in which to own a car because of the taxes that are levied on car buyers and users–a total of nine.  In fact, the related taxes levied in Japan are about 38 times higher than similar taxes levied in the US.

In 2008 Japan produced the most cars in the world–11 million.  That designation was taken by the Chinese in 2009.  In that year, the Chinese produced 13 million cars while the Japanese only produced 8 million.

In November of 1982, the Honda Accord became the first Japanese car to be made in the United States.

Trivia about the Runner Up

Just because Japan won the challenge, let us not forget about the runner-up.  Here are some interesting facts about the US and its cars.

A design concept of the 1955 Lincoln Futura was the basis of the Batmobile.

That American classic, the Dodge Challenger, was actually created by Mitsubishi between 1978 and 1983.

The first-ever car company in the world was the Missouri Car and Foundry Company, established in 1865.

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