Well put, Trakhak! I got the well-recommended Schwalbe Delta Cruiser tires for my English 3-speed, and for whatever reason, they rode like rocks. I replaced them with Kenda K40 tires, and they were great. Ya nevah know. I am a tire nerd so I treat myself when I can. I have 32 mm GP 5000 tires on my commuter bike which is overspending on tires that won't last many miles. They get punctures because I want a tire that rides nicely more than a tire that doesn't get punctures. I'm fine with that, but I'm weird.

I haven't had tires fail on the road from defective manufacturing. It does happen, though not often. I had CST tires that would not seat properly. They looked just like tires I had had many years early from a factory in Japan. Maybe CST took the old molds or just the design. But the exact size of the bead was slightly off. And I'm sure this happens with the established brands, too. Which brands does it happen more frequently with? I don't know. I have my impressions, but I don't have a big sample size.

And country of manufacture is not a great predictor. Continental oversees the making of tires in many places. They save the German manufacturing for the high price tires. I bet the Chinese- or Malaysian-made tires with the Continental badge are good. An analogy: Apple specifies how well to make their computers in China, and the result is a low defect rate. Manufacturing is a manageable process, especially when customers are willing and able to pay enough.