Honda is producing some of the best quality ever, based on my experience with two 2005 cars (Accord and TL). The weak spots are few and far between, such as a power door lock actuator on the TL and difficult to change cabin air filter on the TL. Overall, the experience is great and I have only needed to do wear/tear items like brake pads, batteries and wiper blades besides the usual engine and transmission oil changes. The dealer experience has been less than acceptable with the Acura in the case of one dealer - would think you were at a lawn-mower repair shop, not a premium brand auto retailer. As always, things could and should be better as time goes on. As for unreliable VWs, I have seen many examples of poor VW quality. Honda is better.

I have also owned many Honda cars, including a '77 and '79 Civic, '85 Prelude, '90 Prelude, '05 Accord and '05 Acura TL. The quality of power train has improved, but was already stellar, just evolutionary improvements over the Civic's 1237cc with carburetor and points/condenser ignition to fuel injection & electronic ignition (PGMFI) and VTEC. The automatics have gotten better, but my early Hondas had manuals. Body integrity and rust resistance is where they improved substantially. If the '70's Civics had galvanized body panels they would still all be on the road today. The two 2005 Hondas (Accord and TL) are top rate, as good or better in many respects than my '95 Prelude which sets the standard. Alas, minor annoyances spoil the experience