It’s only an anecdote, but the compression of the engine of my '87 Toyota pickup is same as new, as is the gas mileage. It has the original engine, starter, alternator, transmission, clutch. I’ve re-built the carburetor, replaced the water and fuel pumps (the Zone of Auto had the parts in stock.), had the brakes relined (by pros).
When you’re putting 3 kids through a private high-school and college you can’t afford excitement. Reliability and functionality are the priorities. A lot of people can’t afford excitement. I’ve seen many people who really can’t afford excitement, but buy it anyways…and that’s what gets them in financial problems. A vehicle is usually the second biggest purchase you can make. Most people rent where they live so a vehicle IS their biggest purchase.
Truth be told, very few cars are bought for excitement.
No they don’t.
+1
If they were, then Pontiacs might still be manufactured.
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Anecdotes become data when a lot of them exist. Those 80’s and 90’s Japanese trucks were bulletproof. My old Mitsubishi pickup just wouldn’t die, and it led a very hard life before I got my hands on it, and I wasn’t nice to it either. I ended up selling it to a kid. I bet that kid gives it to her kid some day. 
That’s not unique to Toyota’s, though. Almost every manufacture has issues with the first year of a redesigned car.
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But they weren’t rust proof. They were very very prone to rust here in the North East. Rusted out far worse then almost any other vehicle on the road.
I’ve been to South America a few times for work. Those small Japanese trucks are everywhere. They even have models that I’ve never seen before. Since they don’t really have much snow outside the mountains there isn’t the rust issue.
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That’s very true, and was true of all Japanese vehicles until probably the 2000’s. My old Mitsubishi was probably 15% Bondo by the end there. 
They’ve gotten a lot better in that regard now. My '07 TL went more than a decade before it even started showing mild surface rust at the wheel arches where the tires fling gravel and salt. That was a great improvement over my old '88 CRX, which had large rust-through holes on each rear fender by 1997.
Dodge caters to the same market segment that Pontiac did, and is still alive and well.
The Dodge marque is alive, but whether it will remain well “enough” to remain for the long-term is an unknown. How many of us would have foreseen the demise of Pontiac?
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I think that the destruction of Alfred Sloan’s hierarchy of a “car for every purse and purpose” nearly resulted in the demise of GM.
Well, if you think about it, GM re-thought and restructured that plan many times over the years. Pontiac began as the cheaper companion model to the Oakland. The now-forgotten GM Viking was the cheaper companion to the Olds line. And, the now also-forgotten Marquette was Buick’s cheaper version. Of course, there was also Caddy’s “little” brother, LaSalle.
Pontiac survived for many decades after pushing its Oakland stable-mate out of the marketplace, but the Viking and the Marquette disappeared after only two years–ergo a massive failure in product planning on the part of GM. LaSalle didn’t even exist for very many years.
So, the “car for every purse and purpose” strategy was an ever-changing sales tool, and it had just as many abject failures as it had successes.
GM had alternatives. They had Chevrolet for the sportier cars that Pontiac was supposed to build. Back in the day, Buick, Olds, and Pontiac all had similar cars in the lineup with enough difference that if you wanted certain features, you had to go there. It’s easy to see Olds and Pontiac rationalized down to Buick. FCA, on the other hand, doesn’t have alternatives since they shut down Plymouth.
Well, I guess they have the alternative of trying to market Peugeots in The US, now that they have essentially withdrawn Fiat from the US marketplace… again.
Will it come to that?
Who knows?
Although my experience is anecdotal, the two Toyotas I’ve owned have proven quite reliable while both GM cars, an Olds and a Chevy, had lots of problems.
I preferred the interior proportions and layout of the GM cars but decidely like even more the reliability of my current Camry.
Thought about one, would not fit my golf clubs.
Toyota’s been the first stop when we’re car shopping for my parents since 1970, although they didn’t end up with one until the 2010 Prius the brand has always been a prime candidate. Just wasn’t the right car many times but we still would look and see what Toyota offered in that market. Was always a reliable and long lasting choice for friends and family. Grandpa kept his 86 Camry until he died in 2006 because he really didn[t need a new car since his worked just fine.
When I want excitement or enjoyment in a car, I drive one of my collectibles, the newest of which was made in 1963. When I simply need transportation, I drive my wife’s 2 year old Hyundai. Definitely no enjoyment or surprises there.
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That is an important test for me, too. Gotta remember important priorities. 
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