This is actually a subject I enjoy talking about on all levels.
I've personally visited most Asian countries. They have their challenges, their advantages, and a very different outlook on life - politically and socially. I do not know why discussing it needs to be sensitive. Even among our membership we have different opinions and preferences. Some place more value on pure cost, some on quality, some on availability, some on performance, most of us place value on all these things to different degrees. China is a long ways away. Given all other things equal, I'd rather buy local. In fact, I'd rather pay more to buy local even if it originally comes from China. But I don't like to get ripped off. A fair markup to cover faster availability and a hassle free experience is perfectly ok with me.
Back to your questions.
First Car Quality - it used to matter - It doesn't much matter anymore. Japanese and South Korean car quality is second to none. Chinese vehicle quality - well, not so much. I think the best comparison I can make is to compare Chinese auto manufacturing to R/V manufacturing in North America. It can be really nice stuff with lots of features but man are they ever rough around the edges.
An interesting story worth telling is "perception". A study was done on a product made in a North American Assembly plant but sold in both Asian and Domestic dealerships both overseas and in N. America. The warranty costs were 10 times higher for the N. American branded product even though they were totally identical in every respect except the name badge. How could that be? According to JD Powers the difference was mostly customer expectations - the buyers accepted the Asian quality but demanded better from N America. There was also a little dealership revenue generation going on too......
Then there is progress. Each generation of product gets better and better no matter who makes it. But when someone has a bad experience with Honda, and then buys a much newer car from Toyota, they get a better car. So they automatically assume that Toyota is better and swear they will never buy another Honda. But the equivalent new Honda is much better than the old one was and probably just as good as the new Toyota.
Safety is a whole nuther subject. I've discussed that here before. There are government safety standards which are mostly tests to meet minimum standards. Vehicles either meet them or don't. If they meet them, they are certified for sale to consumers. But then there are also internal goals. To take a simple example, consider a head injury criteria in a barrier Impact test. Government requires a maximum injury rating for a frontal impact. Industry tests and certifies this performance level. But industry goes WAAAAYYY beyond that. Computer simulations allow the industry to test and calibrate those tests in the real world to a million (actually a continuum) of other scenarios at every conceivable angle and speed to maximize "real world" safety. Ironically, sometimes the mandated tests limit what could have been achieved without them. There are no standards for this. Companies just do it because they can. Real world accidents don't follow the rules. Yet government, the media, and consumers only look at the regulated numbers and the ratings.
At the same time, there are some very important differences in how these "real world" factors are developed. Highway infrastructure, driving regulations, and driving habits in North America, China, Japan, Europe, India, Africa, etc etc are all very different. It's not possible to optimize performance for all these differences simultaneously in the same vehicle. Knowing this, I prefer to buy vehicles that were predominantly designed for the North American market because that's where I drive. Note that I said "designed for", not "built in".
One last comment on safety. SIZE MATTERS. It's pure physics.
I could go on and on for days on this subject. But I think that's enough for one post. Happy to answer more questions.
