Please do not try to play that whole "media" angle. Ford and GM have done it to themselves. They have put out products that have been lacking in quality since the 70's. (Yes, not all have stunk. And yes, some have been quite nice with only some minor nuisances, but they've had their share of crap.) Yes, they are FINALLY starting to turn it around, and it is being reported as such. However, when GM and Ford claim they are really sweating over quality and then have ticky-tack recalls on simple systems (airbag modules, cruise controls) that they have been building for years, of course they are going to catch flak for it. And three years of incremental improvements in initial quality still does not equal long term dependability. It's a positive step, but due time.
But note that the media has been covering this story and been following it with updates as they have become available. They hyped up the Honda transmission problems. They kept covering how Honda was simply extending the warranties an extra 2 years/15,000 miles rather than issuing a recall and fixing the problem. Yes, they did not cover the Camry sludging issue very well back in the late 90's and likely would have blown it up had it been a Chevrolet. But it is now the late 00's. The times have changed and the coverage is much more fair. Especially with the exponential growth of the internet and the automotive community on it since the beginning of the decade.
20 Engine Failures in Tundra; Toyota Looking at Recall
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