The story of the guy in Australia arrested for going on a six-day, 1,988-mile test drive of a new Honda Accord brought back many memories of my own car-buying experiences -- none of them pleasant.

First was the salesman at a nameless Hyundai dealership who in the middle of a test drive asked my wife and I to stop at a convenience store so he could buy a pack of cigarettes. Thank goodness, he didn't smoke the Marlboros while we were driving the SUV he supposedly was trying to sell us, but this idiot soured my family on Hyundais forever. Heck, driving near the Korean-made cars makes me nervous.

During a test-drive of a Nissan, my wife and I heard a rattle. The smooth-talking salesman -- whose twin brother also sells cars -- told us not to worry because "we will get you one without the rattle." My wife and I weren't impressed and NIssan is now also on my family's do-not-drive list. Whenever I see a Nissan on the road, I try to change lanes.

Is General Motors (NYSE: GM) really getting its mojo back? GM execs spare no expense talking about how the 2008 Chevy Malibu is a better alternative to Honda (NYSE: HMC)'s new Accord and the Toyota (NYSE: TM) Camry. Is it really, or is this the same old GM line about how the American automaker is now making "world-class cars" that can compete line-for-line with the competitors? Specifically, Japanese competitors?

GM's re-tooling of processes, manufacturing and design-to-manufacture reflected in the new Malibu may be enough to put it head-to-head against a perennial, reliable best seller like the Honda Accord, but in the minds of American consumers, style and dependability still are not synonymous with GM cars, regardless of the marketing-speak of the hour from Detroit. How can GM really convince customers that its offerings are really world-class and not the same unreliable junk that came out of GM's designs and manufacturing centers just six to seven years ago?

That's the challenge, and it will take more than confident talk like, "The cars and trucks GM has introduced over the last three model years or so stand alongside the best the company did in the 1950s and '60s when GM was the peak of styling and innovation," which came from analyst Joe Phillippi. That may be true, but it may take a generation of consumers being impressed by GM's re-emergence as a highly reliable auto manufacturer before the world realizes that Phillippi's statement is true.

Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) recently eclipsed General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) as the world's largest automaker by unit volume. Although it's no surprise that both GM and Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) have struggled massively in recent years as vehicle category demand shifts and ongoing labor issues have shaken the domestic automakers, other automakers are poised to take more share from the big two. Honda Motor Corp. executives hope to do just that with a perennial best-seller in the U.S., the Honda Accord.

The 2008 Accord is posed to be the "next big thing" for Honda, and the Japanese automaker is pulling out all the stops to make sure this happens. The Accord is to Honda what the Camry is to Toyota --- a company flagship---, and the newer version features a longer body, more horsepower, a bigger interior and a more aggressive look. I though I would never see the word "aggressive" being used to describe the Accord, but there you have it. Let's hope road rage is not more common among Accord owners next year.

So, again GM and Ford will be facing heightened competition as the 2008 model year selling season begins. In fact, it's already here -- many automakers already have 2008 models on showroom floors. Can the re-badged Ford Five Hundred (now called the Taurus) and vehicles like the Chevy Malibu step up and meet the new 2008 Camry and 2008 Accord head on? 2008 may be the largest battle in a decade for the full-size family sedan category, and Honda hopes to steal the limelight with the new Accord. After three straight years of falling sales, will the Accord raise back up to prominence for Honda in 2008? We'll all see.

As The New York Times chronicles the collapse of Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F), the company has decided it is tired of having sand kicked in its face by Honda (NYSE:HMC) and Toyota (ADR)(NYSE:TM)

The U.S. car company will begin advertising its Fusion model as a direct and better car than its competition, the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. Both Japanese models outsell the Fusion.

Ford's vehicle sales fell almost 8% in the U.S. during 2006.

Ford clearly wants to part with its sissy boy image and show that it is not going to be pounded to a pulp by its Japanese competitors. Not, at least, without a fight.

It may even work.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.