Time to leave South Korea?

Since 2006, with the purchase of a Hyundai Elantra five-door, then a 2007 (new model) Santa Fe AWD, we've been Hyundai drivers. Both cars have been beyond excellent. Without equivocation I can say they've been the best cars I've ever owned.

The Santa Fe has been our primary long-haul vehicle, used for ski/snowboard trips to the mountains, many drives to Florida and the midwest, and has just shy of 200,000 miles to show for it. The older Elantra is awesome. This was from back in the day when Hyundai just stole old blueprints from other auto manufactures and copied them -- many people complimented me about my new Saab when I bought it. Now, it's obviously dated, and despite dings and dents from our kid using it to learn to drive, it's still going strong at 150k.

The point of this? We have two cars with 350k between them. They're both paid off. The Santa Fe still looks new; we took out the factory floor mats and installed custom liners, we've used seat covers, we've taken great care of it with a local mechanic we know and trust. One owner, all service records. The Elantra is just my fun car. A lovable beater with rear seats that fold down to haul lots of stuff.

Alas, we have to buy a new car. We're into our local mechanic beaucoup bucks right now as both cars had significant failures in the same week. Maintenance related on both (cat conv on the Elantra, timing chain cover on the Santa Fe, to be expected with the mileage).

I know this has already gone on too long, but I just thought I should give some background. We've really loved our Hyundais and they've been solid, loyal cars for a decade. But we need a new primary vehicle. Having BOTH cars fail in one week woke us up. We need a new primary vehicle. We'll keep both of the old cars...why not? They've been loyal as a hound dog, and we can use them for the dirty work. We'll get a nice comfy sedan for the primary vehicle. The question is...do we stick with Hyundai and all of the loyalty discounts we'll get, or should we switch? I'm seriously considering going Ford. I've never bought a Ford before, but they have some nice vehicles, and they're American-made. And they didn't take bail-out money.

I'd entertain other options, too. I love to try a Chevy Volt, but I'm skeered. Opinions, please.