My 1994 vintage Zenith 35" is still hanging in there - I wasn't educated when I bought it - it was the year AFTER NAFTA, and of course it's made in Meh-he-co. Actually, when it was new and working properly I thought it had a wonderfully good picture - I had compared it's picture to several other 35" models in the store at the time, and chose it because it looked best to my eyes. Yes, the build quality is not great. A friend of mine had bought a Zenith console for his family in the late 90's and it only lasted 2 or 3 years. Now he has a Toshiba and it works great.
My set still has the sporadic problem that I mentioned in another thread where the green gun evidently doesn't fire (started doing that a couple years ago when it was only 9 years old) But it has another odd problem since new - there were days I'd turn it on and have big patches of reddish color (noticeable only on certain backgrounds). I'd have to turn the TV off, and then turn it on again to make them disappear. I never called a technician because it was too sporadic. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that she hangs in there until October when I plan to purchase a new flat panel set.
I probably won't buy a Zenith again - I expect a television to last more than 8 or 9 years without problems.