[citation][nom]Shadow703793[/nom]Yup. You'd think they'd pick up Toyota as a partner over GM.[/citation]
I think not. In light of Toyota's recent issues with products that don't stop and go when they are supposed to I don't really think they would have been any better.
They aren't magically better... That honeymoon is over: if you use cheap parts your shit
will break, regardless of whether you are a Japanese or American company (and of course, both do it). However the last thing you could accuse NASA of being is cheap. They spend millions on space pens, Russians take pencils.
So I don't think the engineering partner really matters.