I'm wondering how much context plays role in this perception — for example, I'm from Europe and find it somewhat confusing when people from USA talk about BMW/V

I'm wondering how much context plays role in this perception — for example, I'm from Europe and find it somewhat confusing when people from USA talk about BMW/VW as utterly unreliable; here, it's the reverse — people equate VW cars as reliable and unpretentious, while BMW reliable and having great driving dynamics. Many people do consider BMW/VW as well-engineered/well-built quality cars that provide relatively good residuals.