is there any objective data out there about the quality of Taiwanese-made bikes vs. american-made bikes? higher rate of failure? higher number of warranty claims?

NOTE - i'm NOT talking about one-off custom frames. i'm not looking for individual annecdotes, those just start flame wars....i'm looking for actual data. this should not include components, because those are an easily-remedied cost-cutting measure. and finally, i'm not asking, because thus far i don't have any reason to care where my bike was made, all perform just fine.

reason for my question - a friend of mine was recently discouraged from buying the steel Masi he wanted because the frame is made in taiwan, not italy. he was also told that he should "jump" on any remaining Cannondale bikes that were made in the USA before they start building in Taiwan. now, i have a Bianchi, a Masi, and a Felt, all of which i believe were made overseas. they all perform very well and have clean welds. it seems to me that someone who builds a lot of frames will have skill, regardless of their country.

American cars have a stigma for poor quality, but american bikes, for some reason, have some kind of higher status. maybe it's marketing to the american consumer's patriotism.