Do a little research. Toyota and Hondas have a good reputation because they built a lot of good cars in the 80's and 90's. However, several other manufacturers have improved the quality of their cars in the last couple of years. So, Toyota and Honda aren't the only good automanufactures. Buick and Ford have recently improved and Chrystler has become better ever since it became a German company. Bottom line, there are more choices for good new cars then Toyota and Honda now.
Toyota and Honda are still clearly the tops. If you look at Consumer Report, they list the good bets and the bad bets as far as cars are concerned. Toyota has the most cars on the list with 14, not counting Lexus, and Honda is second with 9, not counting Acuras. The next closest after that is Infiniti with 5. Beyond that, look online at how long Hondas and Toyotas have been known to last. The longest I have heard is over 700,000 miles for a Honda Civic, but there are an amazing number that are over a quarter of a million miles, and are still running strong. Look at Buick, Ford, and Chrysler and see if you can find the same. I am willing to bet not.
Do a little research. Toyota and Hondas have a good reputation because they built a lot of good cars in the 80's and 90's.
No, they have a good reputation because they continue to make the most reliable cars on the roads. If you want an example of a car company that is far overrated in quality because they used to make good cars, look at Volkswagen. They used to be on par with Toyota and Honda as far as quality, back when they were made in Germany. Now, they are trash because they are made in Mexico, South America, and I believe in India as well.