Why do American cars lag so far behind their Japanese counterparts?

Please only intelligent answers. I have had many fords and chevys and i think ive finally given up on buying another American car. Once the warrenty is up magically a lot of little things start to go wrong. I beileve that Jappanese have really got there act together. Their people really care about their companies.Why do American cars lag so far behind their Japanese counterparts?
I think what American car companies put emphasis on is packaging and bells and whistles and they do not emphasize longevity and function. Japanese make cars to work first. Even their luxury, isn't that luxurious. But they run for a long time.Why do American cars lag so far behind their Japanese counterparts?
A myth that just won't die. The Japanese firms have had recalls. They've had many dissatisfied customers. The only experience I've had with a rice-rocket was a Cirrus with a Mitsubishi engine. The engine died at 100,000 miles. Pretty pathetic. You're certainly entitled to your misguided opinion. For myself, I wouldn't have a rice-rocket or a kim-che cruiser in my driveway. By the way, I still have our '78 Lincoln Continental Town Car and '91 Mercury Grand Marquis, both of which run wonderfully well. So too does our '51 Lincoln Cosmopolitan Sport Sedan. Say, here's a question for you - how many fifty year old nip cars do you see running around these days? How about thirty years? Twenty? Guess they just don't have the staying power that North American cars do.
The Japanese have come up with very good parts. I have a nissan pathfinder from 93 and the thing still runs like its new. American brand cars dont have well developed part like the Japanese cars do. Get a toyota or a Nissan. That will last you for over 10 years.Why do American cars lag so far behind their Japanese counterparts?
i could tell you HORROR stories about my first car a brand new chevy caviler... that thing was a piece of junk that was always in the shop (the service dept knew my name and address the second i pulled up)

i found out that my car was one of the AMERICAN cars made in mexico. so maybe their standard of building things was not as high quality.

all i know is the car was brand new and the carpet fell out in the first week i owned it... i will never buy american made again, cause you dont even know if it was really made in america to begin with!
ya i've had a toyota camry and it ran good did have any problem with itWhy do American cars lag so far behind their Japanese counterparts?
Its cheaper over there. The material plus the labor is cheap.