boy american car makes are still dealing with a poor rep for the crap they put up in the earily 90's. At this point in time American cars are not really any worse than foreign cars. Heck most of the time they are cheaper.
In regard to GM, I STRONGLY disagree with this. I've owned recent American cars from Olds (Alero) to Chevy (Malibu) and at some point after 50k, things start to fall apart ..... fast. That Malibu was the worst car I have ever owned.
The resale value was horrible for those cars as well.
Now, I can't speak for Ford, since I've never owned one. They might have actually improved.
I currently own two Hondas, a Toyota, and a Nissan. The Nissan does have some issues, I'll admit (but then again it's an early 90s car). The Hondas and Toyota are completely worry-free. One of my Hondas (Accord) is nearing 100k miles. Absolutely no problems.