beaters what options do us mopar lovers have?

Yeah, it really all depends on your needs. It's a tough question to answer without ALL of the details. Personally, I need a truck. But then, I don't have kids (yet). I have a Jeep Wrangler with a 4x8 trailer, and I can haul a lot in it that I can't move in my wife's Camry, but I still need a truck to do everything I would like to do.

Most things in life are a compromise, unfortunately.

That said, as much as I would probably never buy a foreign car myself (even though that's a big grey area nowadays), I do have to say that overall my wife's '00 Camry has been a pretty good car. If I put the back seat forward, I can even stick things like a few long 2x4"s in there. It's comfortable, quiet, gets good MPG, and if it was something I would enjoy driving and would suit my needs, I would consider something like it for myself. But frankly, it doesn't meet either of those requirements for me.