The funny thing is that if it weren't for the Mercedes E-Class W211, which obviously is a German car and underpinned the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Magnum/Charger, the American auto industry would have been FAR BEHIND the Europeans in performance, technology advancements and fuel efficiency/emissions A LOOONNNG TIME AGO.
Without the 300, American cars would have looked like total ponies and donkeys compared to German and other European/Asian cars today.
Another thing too, aside from the specialty (Cobra, SS, Trans Am, GTO) models, American (and US-market "foreign") V8s weren't much, if at all faster than their V6 counterparts. A New Edge Mustang with a V6 and a manual could catch up easily with its V8 automatic counterpart.
The late 1980s to the early 2000s were, to say the least, awkward times for American cars.