my input
I've only had 3 cars in the 4 years I've been a licensed driver (a 94 Olds 88 that got totaled 5/4/04 after 7 months (other gal's fault), a 91 Toyota Camry from May 04-Jul 06, and a 96 Cadi Fleetwood Brougham, my current car.) I got the Cadi from a doctor in Sedalia off of eBay for 2000 below blue book, and so far in the year I've had it, I've probably paid the difference in gas. After so many repairs on my Camry and it not having enough oomph to drive up the steep hills of highway 70 between Columbia and St. Louis, I wanted something with plenty of juice and lots of cargo room. So I know I wanted a GM B-Body car from 94-96 after people bragging about how it's gonna be a classic soon, has a corvette engine, big trunk room, yadda yadda yadda. I originally wanted a wagon (preferably non-woody) but some were just way out of my budget or too far away.
My family has mostly bought American (my mom's first car was a '62 Chevy Impala for $75, later a '68 GTO, then her first new car was a 1980 Chevy Citation, then an 86 GMC Van bought May 13th of 86, a 95 GMC van bought 3/31/98) Then when gas was at an all time high of $1.74 in 2001 she went to a 2001 Kia Sportage May 5th of '01, then traded that in 2 months ago May 28th on a 2007 model. Lord I'd kill to have one myself for just 27 MPGs alone and 66 cu ft of cargo room.