I can attest that, apart from the odd sportscar (Cobra, corvette, maybe viper) and from your god-damn-dzilla 4x4 trucks most europeans have a *very* poor image of u.s. cars. Daimler-chrisler has been trying to sell some chrysler & jeeps over here, but after the inital coolness factor wore off, the sales dropped like a rock, mostly due to perceived quality problems (plasticky is a word which comes up often)
Suspension is too soft for our tastes (one test i read complained of the suspension "poinging" up and down for miles after the bump
)
Doesn't help that with import dues, a cherokee (for example) is competing with x5 bmw's...