Anyone been out looking at new rides lately? We have, and are quite disparate in our selections. She wants a mini-cooper, with an automatic, while I insist that if we get a mini, it's got to be the S, which has a standard tranny. Somehow over the past several years she's decided that she no longer wants to drive a manual shift, but the gutsier motor doesn't come with a slushbox. I've suggested a new Grand Prix (supercharged) with paddle shift, yet there aren't any to be had just yet, so the 'jury' is still out.

I wholly endorse Hondas & Toyotas. Honda has a new Accord now. But they may be a bit bland if you want a Mini Cooper or a supercharged Grand Prix.

Toyotas are fine, but very bland vehicles. Toyotas are typically over-priced, and under-powered. Honda makes an excellent car, and one we've seriously considered was the Acura CL - S coupe, which unfortunately is not going to be made any longer. I would consider a TL-S sedan, which is priced right along side the Buick LeSaber.
My only "real' complaints about any of the Japanese vehicles is that none of them have FORD, GM or Chrysler nameplates.

American cars = crap

While there are some that aren't great, not all are crap. The afforementioned LeSaber is a good car. It has (along with the Bonneville, Grand Prix, Regal, Park Avenue, Monte Carlo & Impala) the finest pushrod V6 made, that being the 3.8L. GM's transmissions are marketed for use in vehicles world-wide. The LeSaber has been a Consumer's Reports best buy for about the past 10 years, ranking right up there with the best Japan has to offer.
I've had my Corvettes(72 454 auto, 67 327 4spd) , a couple of BMWs (528i & 735i), a Jag XJ 6C, a Sportster, and several other pretty cool rides, so not just any old sled will suffice.

Well, yeah, the LeSabre isn't that bad, but in general anything made by Ford or GM is not the best. Of course, Kia, Daewoo, Infiniti, and some others are even worse.

Infinity is branch of Nissan, which has long been a "partner" of Ford....as is Mazda. Daewoo has been in talks with GM recently.
As far as strictly American manufacturers go, Chrysler is probably the worst. Yeah, they make pretty cars, but they don't really display quality of build, and are frequently plagued with mechanical problems.