Honda and Toyota? LOL In the 1960 70s no one knew what they were in the US.
Working in the bodyshops of the day, by the time the early 80s Toyo were 3 years old you could stick your fist into the rust holes on the fenders LOL. It was their existence that opened the door for the big aftermarket sheetmetal market since the slightest dents would make the panel not worth repair.
When you talk foreign cars in the US back then we're mostly talking BMW, Mercedes, etc, high end marks that only rich guys could afford to buy and maintain, status symbols.
I'm an American and buy American whenever and if at all possible.
On the 47 square mile island of Saipan (Yep, it's wet & the majority of roads are full of coral dust [think: salted at all times]) and in the tropics, a Wendy's & it's parking lot disappeared 3 years after closing from the vegetation growth because it's Tropical there (the air that you breath is wet).
No one has garages for there vehicles there (a carport but not a garage). I was a resident there from 2003-2018. (From 2001-2003 I lived on islands in the Indian Ocean. So I have 18 years of wet air, salty air environment with vehicles from various places.
There in 2005 I had a 1980 Mercedes 300D (yep, some rust in the inner fender wells & trunk floor), a 1995 Ford ranger pickup truck (that was partially rusted through where the antenna came through the fender), an acquaintance had a pristine 1979 Chevrolet Malibu.
Another acquaintance there had a 2002 Toyota RAV IV (which you could stick your fingers through the fenders and the floorboard.
This was very typical of the Asian cars vs Other brands.
There were a Ford, Toyota, Nissan & Kia dealerships. If it was something else, it likely came from Guam.
The Toyota pickup trucks did OK but their SUV's & cars, just as bad as the other Asian makes (which was very bad).
I eventually has a 2007 Honda Fit & a 2012 Lexus ES350 (both on Guam, 120 miles away). But they were washed weekly, the Fit was sold there in 2019, falling apart & leaking water into the interior with right at 54,000 miles on it. The Lexus was imported to Charleston, SC in 2019 with 18,000 miles on it.
But these2 cars only lasted due to herculean efforts with washing, waxing, etc.
I currently have a 2004 SS Chevrolet Silverado with 200,000 miles on it (no rust at all, not even surface rust) & a 2024 Subaru CrossTrek (that I have lifted 2") that has 8600 miles on it. And I do not have a garage. The Charleston area is semi tropical, so we'll see.
But based on my experiences in Saipan, Asian cars only last with extreme caring for. And since I already know that, that is the care that the (even though it is made in America) Subaru will get.
