*ahem* - that has NOT always been the case. Ford was making absolute crap in the 80's, and it has taken them a long time to recover from such a bad reputation. They still haven't fully recovered. Ask anyone the question "who makes better quality cars, Toyota or Ford", 9 times out of 10, they'll tell you Toyota has better quality. Whether or not this is true is completely besides the point. Perception means everything.

Quality comes from top management, so you can't entirely blame the UAW for the big three's reputation for poor quality.