Exactly...perception lags reality. The domestics could be just as good as the imports, and the perception would lag.
Of course, this was a benefit to the Big 3 in the '70's, 80's and '90's, because the perception lagged the reality...and the reality was the Chevy Vega, the cobbled together Detroit Diesel, the Pinto, any given Chrysler product, etc.
I bet you were trying to remember the Cricket, weren't you!!! It's hard to believe the Pinto was the best of those three, until one dark night on an Indiana highway near Elkhart.