Not sure if this thread is dead or not, but I've owned a Chevy, two Toyotas, an Isuzu, a Mitsubishi, a Nissan and now two Mazdas, so I'm not going to make any broad, fanboy-driven generalizations based on make. I also come from a family loyal to no brand, as we've had two more Chevys, an Olds, a Plymouth, three Hyundais, a Saturn and the random Ford truck to even things out. The fact of the matter is, no make is exclusive anymore, with every company owning each other and sharing vendors for parts.
That being said, I've put a good many miles in an '03 Mustang V6 5-speed and found it to be a nice ride. I test drove an '05 V6 5-speed and while it has nice power and I love the looks, I can't get over how big and heavy the new Mustangs are. Had they made them Fox body-sized and under 3,000 lbs., I'd probably be rocking a V8 manny tranny right now.