I bought my first car ( a used FORD ) in 1956
Over the years, I've owned 19 autos.... most of them bought new.
I can remember when;
cars were affordable
folks went car shopping every 2 - 3 years
you bought a car for its looks. and cars were pretty.
you returned a new car to the dealer with a list of 20 > 30 items to be fixed or adjusted.
batterys, shocks, mufflers didn't last much past 30,000 miles.
the family station wagon hauled everything, and pick-up trucks were for farmers.
Americans bought "toy cars" from Renault, VW, or OPEL
Looking back, I can't say I got great service out of any of the cars I bought. Most started to fall apart at 60K miles. Best car has been my 2002 BUICK Century.