i got an 1989 honda civic that's been all over the country with 650,000 miles on it..it broke down once, overheated because of a leak in the radiator, cost me 99 dollars for a brand new (not rebuilt or repaired) one and was easy as hell to put in. other than that, oil changes regularly has kept that car going non stop since i owned it in 97 and started with 120,000 miles. it cost me 1200 dollars.
my honda crx is a 90' si, i've had it since about 2000 and paid 3000 for it and have never had a problem with it since, i did know the previous owner and he kept it in pretty good shape since the day it was new...you can see this car at
http://www.importspeed.ws/gallery it's the top one (yellow) i have upgraded it some...but i would say by far hondas have never let me down and if you're worried about american made cars etc. they were the #1 rated car made in the u.s.