I think all modern bikes are ugly if I'm being honest. And yes, the price of modern bikes is ridiculous. I did all the rides people do now on my old Galaxy. Probably would have been minimally faster, but I also rode to work on my Galaxy. It was cheaper than walking! Often, the modern bike buyer drives their car to the place where they ride their bike - it's an aspirational product rather than a useful one. There isn't the money for things like that at the minute and more to the point there isn't the credit to pay for them all - Like a big main dealer for cars, it strikes me that a lot of Giant/Specialized shops were shops that sold finance rather than bikes.
It will be sad if Giant goes. Quite a lot of well designed, interesting bikes - I don't understand why the retro crowd aren't interested in them more. The early 2000s were a high point when Mike Burrows was designing for them. I really wanted a Giant TCR back then.
You've got to feel for all the suppliers though. It's going to be an interesting time for the cycling industry in general.
I'll still be riding my old bike - just going to keep fixing it.