The thing with many Asian cars is they lack a sense of soul. They are reliable, probably more so than any other regions cars, but to me that reliablility comes at the expense of a driving heritage/soul. Japanese cars just seem bland to me, hence I don't want to drive one.
I was talking to the servive guy at a Jaguar dealership last year and asked him why the loaner cars are Toyota Camrys. He said, "Well, the Toyota has no soul, true, but it runs forever without breaking down so is very low cost to have as a loaner vehicle for us. They are no fun to drive, but they just run forever".
I like having a bit of pleasure in my driving - to me that is important, more so than just having a well priced car that doesn't break down and is bland. The only Japanese car I've test driven and thought was OK was the Lexus LS 460. It is smooth and quiet, like a Caddy. Not much soul, but I could live with it if I had to drive Japanese.
GM...well, my family has also been GM buyers in the 50's, 60's, 70's 80's and 90's, but has also migrated away...to European brands such as Mercedes, BMW and Jaguar. Mainly because they thought the fit, finish, and performance of GM was falling behind those Euro brands, and that the "You've made it if you drive a Caddy" has come and gone and been replaced by "You've made it if you drive a Mercedes" (if over 40) and "You've made it if you drive a BMW (under 40). I still drive a Caddy as my primary vehicle, and I like it. Smooth, reliable, luxurious without being too in your face, the Cadillac heritage/soul, great in snow, roomy without being a land yacht, nice V8 with 300 HP, etc.
The big three still make some decent looking cars:
Dodge Challenger/Charger (fun looking - Cops use this as a patrol car in Florida)
Pontiac G8 (nice looking family car)
Pontiac Solace (for the girls of summer)
Chevy Corvette (as a second/third car I'd like one)
Cadillac STS (I have one)
Cadillac CTS
Cadillac XLR (I'd take the Corvette over it, but it is nice too)
2010 Chevy Camaro SS looks nice in the Car & Driver test (poor man's Vette)
Dodge Viper (if you don't mind a stick)
Cadillac Escalade (if you want an SUV - I don't, but many do)
Lincoln MKZ