In my opinion, honda, toyota, and Nissan have done a nice job with acura, lexus, and infiniti. For brand snobs who have to drive german these brands will never be good enough. But i find that they offer a lot more value.

I love the high end audis, metcedes, and bmws. But for the entry level (3 series, c class) to mid level (5 series, e class) the japanese do a great job.