Funny..........All of the ones I've owned functioned fine from day one-including three Llama Max-1 1911 knock-offs. I only have my Kimber Stainless Target II and Colt Mk IV now, and would trust them with my life.
IMO, the bad rap 1911's have gotten comes from two places:
1) Under 4" tubes; The 1911 just wasn't meant to be bobbed that much, and while virtually all compacts are more finicky than their full size counterpart, the 1911 is particularly affected. Not that you can't get a 3" or 3-1/2" gun to run, but I personally stick with commander size (4") or larger.
2) People screw with them, and many of those people have no business putting a tool to a gun. They mess with the spring assembly, the feed ramp, etc. and then gripe that the thing is unreliable. Leave the modifications to someone who knows what they're doing or LEAVE IT ALONE!
As well, the 1911 wasn't intended to run with the tight tolerances many of them do today. Tightening guns up inproves accuracy at the cost of being ammo sensitive. This is akin to a race engine; The performance is astounding, but they have to be perfectly adjusted, are adversely affected by wrong oil viscosity or low grade fuels, more sensitive to temperature, etc. In the reverse, a low compression standard small or big block cast iron V8 can run on any grade of gasoline, doesn't care if it's filled with 10w30 or straight 50 weight, will run at 150* or 240*.......
Increase perfromance, decrease reliabilty. Guns, cars, doesn't matter-this is just how it works.
In other words, if you want a reliable 1911, get one that is set up like a military M1911, with some clearance between parts. It may not chew out the X-ring at 50 yards, but it'll run and run.