It was a Honda lawn mower that sold me on Japanese manufacturing. That thing lasted basically an entire childhood of hard use without a single issue. My first car has been a Nissan Sentra, still driving it and liking it. It's not perfect but it has been rock solid. Japanese cars generally encapsulate what I want in a car: simple, practical, reliable, high value for low dough. But if you want style on the cheaper side it's American or bust. If you've got money to blow, German. And if you've got a ton of money to blow, Italian.