I was in the car business for fifteen years. The key to any vehicle lasting a long time is making sure that you follow the scheduled maintenance.

The Odyssey is a relatively new model, so it's tough to say how long it will last. Honda do build a wonderful product (I drive a Civic myself), but like any manufacturer, they have had the odd "dog". Anyone I know with an Odyssey is very satisfied with it.

I've heard sonme negative reports on the newer Volvo's

I don't think you can go wrong with Toyota, Honda or Subaru in terms of longevity, total cost of ownership and value for the money.

I agree that the North Americans are building much better vehicles than they did twenty years ago.

A '68 Mustang, that brings back memories. My best friend growing up had a '68 390GT Fastback that was identical to the one that McQueen Drove in Bullit. I spent a lot of time in that car, doing things that I'm lucky to have survived (e.g, running from the law at about 120 MPH with lights off at night).