[BigAls87Z28]

Exactly right, its all perception. They remember the 70's and 80's of when GM cars had BIG V8s that sucked gas, fell apart every day, while little Honda's and Toyota's gained in popularity with being very cheap, very fuel efficent, and lasting a long time without too much to worry about.
The Big 3 had let this slide for too long, looking at these little comanies and laughing while people were buying. They got better and made more money per car then the American version, then by the mid 90's, Ford and GM moved all there money into trucks and SUV's, while leaving the car market alone to fend off greater and greater cars from the imports.
It is only NOW that GM has removed its head from its ass, and is trying to catch on to whatever is left, but the problem might be that its too late and that they have lost a whole generation, possibly a second generation to imports.
10-15 years ago, Lexus was just an entry level luxury car, now its considerd to be one of the pinicles of luxury!!
Honda just made little 4 banger tin cans, now they make entry level sporty V6 sedans that are blowing away the competition.
And look at Nissan. Cheap inside and out, but they threw on some fancy sheetmetal (still cheap on the inside) and is one of the fastest growing car companies out there, and is probably the most profitable in the world.

Problem is that GM and Ford, as well as DCX all make cars that are better then what they have to offer, yet just perception of "oh Chevy's are junk" wont go away. Be it tied into incentive plans, or just a long dislike and distrust for the company. Who knows, but The Jap Big 3 keep gaining in sales, while the US Big 3 are holding by the skin of there teeth.