Many people said that American cars became as good as Japanese cars in 2000.
However, the car my dad used to have, a 2000 Chevrolet Impala, had the check engine light come on it before it had reached 100,000 miles and it started having more and more problems until we had to sell the car in 2012. My mom's 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis has things falling off of it and makes cheap-sounding squeaking noises when it's being driven as well as when you shut the doors. On the other hand, my dad's 2013 Hyundai Sonata doesn't make any cheap sounds and hasn't given my dad a single problem. The most amount of miles anyone in my family has put on an American car is that my uncle managed to put 160,000 miles on his 2005 Jeep Liberty. But, the car was literally dying at the time he sold it.
Horrible experiences with American cars is what has gotten my family to leave Ford and GM for Hyundai (and Honda too, as my mom is thinking about replacing her Mercury with an Acura).
In case you were wondering, my family has always done proper maintenance on their cars.