I've had all sorts of different cars / trucks myself over the years, and my family has as well... Observations:

Chevrolet: The old stuff built on the 305 / 350 was pretty rock-solid, friend had a '79 Monte Carlo that was unstoppable, and it would beat a lot of cars we had back when I was in High School (1993).. Newer cars felt cheap, S10s (at least in the late 90's) seemed to be pretty good (at least w/ the 4.3 TBI engines) another friend has one that's gone over 200,000 miles with no major issues, just normal wear items (alternator, water pump, etc.)

Toyota: I had a '86 Toyota 2WD Pickup -- w/ the I4 22R engine. I drove thru high school and college, had about 130,000 miles on it when I gave it back to my Stepdad, he's still driving it.. only had to replace a rear main seal, alternator, and clutch (I attribute most of that to age rather than mileage, particularly the rear main seal). I towed bass boats, etc. with it, it's an awesome (but small) truck. Stepsister had a '81 Tercel, ran 'til she rolled it.. still ran, but we got rid of it. Friend's wife had an Avalon that the engine just totally blew on @ 20,000 miles.

Dodge: Too many to list (my Stepdad is a Chrysler Nut)... mostly good service, had a few transmission issues in the newer Stratus. I bought a '97 Dakota, had a transmission / torque converter vibration that they couldn't get rid of, so I got rid of it a year later.

Mazda: Dad had a '89 626 with God knows how many miles on it.. ran great. Stepmom's '94 has had a bunch of problems, warped intake manifold (probably that way from the factory), etc. I bought a '98 626, great car until the engine started sucking down oil @ 100,000 miles.

Ford: My dad had a Crown Vic (I think it was a '94) w/ the big V8... indestructible.. only thing that went out was the rear air suspension, right when he got rid of it... still running 'round town today. He also had a late '80's Ranger that was unstoppable (4 cylinder). I bought a 2002 Explorer... all sorts of problems, bad brake interlock switch (part not available separately, had to replace the whole stinkin' steering column), "whiney" rear end @ 60MPH (known issue), and 2 transmissions (I've only got 78,000 miles on it).

Other makes: Limited experience.

Conclusion: all makes have their weak spots. If ford could build a transmission, they'd be contenders against toyota... Even with the problems I've had with the Exploder, I'd probably buy another Ford, just not a car... it would have to be a truck or SUV.