Cars today are much better than they have ever been and in general you can expect to buy any 2006 model, drive it with only scheduled maintence and expect to not have any major problems for at least a few years. However some makes and models will suffer from fewer problems over time and that sort of information is of great use to people that don't want to have to think about their cars at all.
Also, you have to remember that much of the industry averages and comparisons are for the manufacturers, to be used as marketing tools.
As for the zero tolerance to defects rule, well, as stated in an ideal world that would be great. But given the shear amount of parts and complexity in your average modern car, something is bound to go wrong. After that, it's just about how long and how much to fix it and who's paying.
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1989 240SX Fastback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1995 300ZX Twin Turbo
Warning: Objects in mirror aren't as fast as they thought they were.