American car companies say they're retooling and - finally! - making stylish, reliable, high-mpg vehicles. So maybe you're thinking it's time to buy American for the first time in years.

Wait, you're not? Consider this: The most recent J.D. Power and Associates' auto satisfaction study shows American-made cars ranked only five points down from imports ... on a 1,000-point scale. And a new 2009 customer satisfaction survey from the University of Michigan put three U.S. brands (Cadillac, Buick and Lincoln-Mercury) in the top five.