Toyota isn't the shining star it once was. Cost cutting has pulled Toyota vehicles much closer to the industry average. As well as the general quality level of American and korean automakers improving over the last 10 years.
Notable exceptions being the Prius and some of the Lexus lineup.
To an extent yes but American companies have cut costs more aggressively in assembly (Toyota and Honda are more American made in parts & labor than Ford & GM these days) which has caused issues & their approach to fuel efficiency of small turbocharged GDI engines has negative implications for reliability that really can’t be overcome with any amount of engineering. In terms of reliability of powertrains, yes it’s much better than it was in the past but shit that blows up in the 200k-300k mile range frequently is still far from ideal
Look at the new Bronco Sport as an example. It’s fairly small, but a 1.5L turbo 3? That’s not something that’s built to last 20 years without any major complications.
Skoda (although owned by VW) are eastern European and they make extremely reliable cars owing to using all the VW technology a few years after its deployed and fixed. About everywhere I go Skoda seems to be the brand of choice for taxi drivers - usually a good sign.
There's Dacia (owned by Renault), that uses old Renault's tech.
They're usually entry level models with poor build quality but good value for money, nothing more than that
Notable exceptions being the Prius and some of the Lexus lineup.