You do need to sort out the dealer garbage with the GM manufacture issues. If you put $5k into a 97 car, that is your own fault, you should have sold it for a grand or so and bought something else. Those cars in new shape don't go for $5K. If a dealer quoted you $5K, I would have gone to someone else for a second opinion. Sorry to say it, but you got ripped, you should rip the dealer's owner first.
I will NOT buy a Japanese car, period. I am sorry for your problem, but this crap attitude that US car manf are inferior to Japan is idiotic and honestly WHY we are in such economic straights today. Yes, GM missed testing for this particular situation, no one, no car company is perfect. In most cases much of the problem is the owner of the car who didn't pay attention to maint and following the GM maint schedules. And then they wanna blame GM for them not opening the hood for months on end. How many people have let the coolant run low for whatever reason, even once, is one of the chief reasons for this problem. GM says to check the oil and do a visual inspection every time you fill up with gas, rarely does anyone. Who's fault is it?
Remember the old bumper stickers? Hungry, Eat your Import....
Check the quality of GM and Ford for the cars in 2000-up, they are much better than the Japanese cars. And you put $ in the US, not
Japan. People have this attitude of me me me, and send our USD outside the US and wonder why our economy is in the garbage can.
Yes, GM had some dark periods on the late 80's and early 90's, but honestly, the Japanese cars were not much if any better. When was the last time you saw a 1990 Toyota, or Infinity or Nissan or Lexus or Subaru driving around? Heck, even a 1997? Not near as often as you see a GM car of the same year. Most ricer burners of those years are in the junkyards now.
Get on with it, you dropped a nice chunk of change on it, now, take care of it like GM says to, enjoy driving a Cadillac for the next 10+ years. There is still no equal.