Personally, and as pax, I love the little beasty. Flying out of New York and DC on a regular basis I've always been impressed by the turnaround times, and deplaning has always been extremely quick. I've also liked the seats and the overall 'bizjet' feel since the first time I flew in a 145 almost a decade ago.
The 145's performance has also always been sprightly: best ride I had on a scheduled service was last year when an ERJ driver made the most of a short take-off window in-between a line of squalls after an hour on the ramp. I'd swear we went vertical !
Okay, carry-on baggage can be a pain, but that's par for the course these days. By comparison, the newer 170/190 feels claustrophobic, and extremely plasticy.
All the larger aircraft, including the CRJs and the F70/100, loose that bizjet feel. But I guess airline economics will dictate it's demise...
I/C