I own a Jeep Grand Cherokee and a 3/4 ton Ford truck. I'd stay American on big iron, but I'd really give one of the big three Japanese companies a serious look on any other car.
The thing that strikes me about American cars is just how cheap and cheesy the interiors are. It looks like you could just blow on the door panel plastics, and they'd start to peel off.
They can keep packing more and more horsepower, but all that hp doesn't make a damned bit of difference to people stuck in city traffic.... they want strong low end torque, and pleasant interiors to help make you forget about the miserable commute ahead.
at least that's what I want! The Passat delivers on that score..