Top Gear is an actual impartial automotive review show where they test the best of the best, and sorry the Caddy failed against the world's best. Not in performance, but in the same things that American Automakers always fail in, quality of materials used, fit and finish and comfort. These may seem trivial details to you but they are part of what make truly world class sports sedans and cars world class to begin with. You mentioned the Holden and you are correct, Top Gear tested that along side the CTS-V and found the performance nearly equal, but the the other parts I mentioned were far superior in the Holden and for a cheaper price (12k pounds as I recall).

All those automotive magazines do is kiss the arse of the automakers (because they also happen to be advertisers). Their opinions are far from "unbiased" - as I recall they "liked" cars like the Cadillac Cimmaron and Chevy Lumina both huge POS's.

I care what the build quality is and the materials used. If you are paying anything over 20K you should care too, otherwise you are wasting your $$

 

GM's ben making "decent" cars with outstanding motors long before the government bailed them out.

None of these were ever in a Vette
The TT 3.8L V6
The Northstar V8
Vortec series

 

And all POS engines in poorly made POS cars. I am very proud to be American, but to say they have been making "world class" cars is simply delusional. If you truly believe that please pass what you're smoking.

 

Also to be thrown into the mix here, is the fact that the M5 is an older design, so it's NOT exactly "Apples to Apples" here now is it?!?
With that being said, when the F10 based M5 comes out, run them again and see how well GM stacks up against BMW!

 

Whoo-boy!

The TT 3.8L V6 (aka Buick Regal GNX) was a car that ran the 1/4 in 13 seconds STOCK - and this was TWENTY FIVE YEARS AGO. What was BMW doing back then?

The Northstar V8 introduced numerous technological advances and was capable of achieving 300bhp - this was almost TWENTY years ago...around the same time BMW FIRST STARTED putting V8's in its production cars

The Vortec small blocks are extremely durable and powerful (e.g Silverado)

Th LS series motors in terms of performance, durability, fuel efficiency, and cost simply THUMP anything BMW has to offer.


I never said GM made "world class" cars - I said that GM made outstanding motors long before gov't assistance. If you would put down whatever it is YOU are smoking then you would come back to reality long enough to read and properly comprehend my previous message.....

 

+1 As with the 3 series (that EVERYONE has been trying to beat for 20 years and failing), the great thing about being the benchmark is you get to keep setting the bar. Which means they can certainly shoot for and match the current M5 in performance, but the next one? Probably not.

 

It's always a game of one-upmanship. The M5 is the most kick arse sedan this year, then Mercedes drops the new E63 or CLS63 (or whatever) next year, then Audi will come out with a *** HP S6, then Cadillac will drop an 8.0L CTS-V. The fight is on, and that's a good thing. Competition is good for all of us and our future purchases.

As for the 3- I've driven one, I pass ninetyleven of them going to and from work everyday, and I don't see what's so special. I love the styling, but it's not all that... Nevertheless, the automotive magazines have been kissing BMW's rear for a LONG time. So much so, the 3-series even beats cars in head to head comparisons when it's completely outgunned, as was the case with the G37 coupe versus the 335i coupe, the triumph of style over substance, of subjective feelings over objective results.

In fact, most of the accolades regarding the steering feel, handling and all of that typically bestowed upon BMW, generally bleeds over from the brilliance of the press's love affair with the 3. That infatuation and assumption of greatness leaks onto the 5, 6, and 7 series., and rightfully so in some areas- but, the other models don?t whip their competition as soundly as the 3 does it?s competition.

Truth be told, the only real benchmark in the BMW bin is the 3 series (and now the smaller 1 series), and the M class vehicles. In the most recent head to head comparo's, the 545/550 was barely beaten (but still beaten) by the M45, and the M35 simply spanked all the 6 cylinder variants of the 5 in terms of handling, fit & finish, acceleration, etc... The 7 routinely loses to the S class, the CLS 63 spanked the M6 in most measurable areas (except for in the road test- the M5's instant power and turning ability took away the straight-line advantages gained by the CLS). The CTS-V blasted the M5 (believe you me, the F10 M5 will have more than 556 HP- it will now, if it didn?t have it planned before, the benchmark got moved temporarily).

The 6 cylinder X5 has a lot of competition in the SUV market from everything from the 2009 Acura MDX and the 2010 RX350 (In terms of performance, ride, handling, seating, features, and cost) to the blisteringly fast Grand Cherokee SRT-8 with regard to track and straight line performance, not to mention the ML550 and the Q7 4.2L..

Being objective, BMW has a lot of competition out there, for every model. They are no longer heads and shoulders above the crowd when it comes to performance and bang for the buck.

However, when it comes to a blend of styling and substance- BMW still has an edge (Thanks to Bangle, and some open-minded leadership at BMW) that you can't quite put your finger on, and one that is not easily overcome. When you mix style and substance, BMW is still the "Big Joker" in this game of spades. But, if we look at substance alone, it's more like a Queen of Spades, still a high card to have in your hand, but one that can be beaten if you lay it on the table at the wrong time.

 

Funny thing is I sold my SRT-8 Jeep to get my 5er, and that day was only eclipsed by my sons' births in terms of happiness.
The Jeep was a $50k POS, trim falling off within the first year, fuel economy dropping from the day I bought it, cheap feeling leather and dash materials. Which is exactly my point. To truly be competition the US automakers have a LONG ways to go. Yes the Jeep had great straight line speed, but the thing that GM, Chrysler, and Ford have never understood: Life has turns, it doesn't happen a 1/4 mile at a time. Any fool can go fast straight, throw a turn in there and really separate the men from the boys.

 

I really like the CTS-V but if I am going to have to pay for one or the other it'll be the M5. I dont care if the CTS-V is slightly faster than the M5.

 

Yeah, I'd have to think long and hard before I buy anything from Chrysler. However, their SRT-8 vehicles and Hemi equipped cars are bad-arse in a red-light-to-red-light race (This is 99% of the street races run in America). They've come a long way from the K-car, but to me- they have a long way to go before they can match GM or Ford.

Clearly, there are places where America (Especially Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge) can improve but this is not to say they (Big 3) are all "garbage" by any means- not any more, and not in the $40K & north categories especially (Except Jeep).

As for my experience, I got burned twice by GM, and vowed to never own another American nameplate after going 0 for 2 with the General. My '97 Maxima and '97 Pathfinder were bulletproof, but that new F-150 (1997) really caught my eye. I couldn't take it anymore and got a new one in 1999. For the last 10 years, a Ford truck has been in my garage. In that entire 10 year span we never had one mechanical breakdown, and only two unscheduled visits to the dealer- one for a power window that decided it wouldn't work anymore- and the 2nd for a "check engine" light that came on due to carbon build up on the sensor, both stops on the 2001 SuperCrew.

My mother-in-law bought my 2000 Expedition when I moved up to the 2003. She still has it, and I still drive it when we all go somewhere on the weekends. That truck will be 9 years old next month, and it has 100,000 miles on it. Even with the small engine (4.6L V8) it has towed trailers, its hauled people and stuff, and it's been worked pretty hard in this Texas heat. To date, it has never failed mechanically, and still shines like a new penny. The battery died last years after a trip to Arlington and back in 105 degree heat. But, it got us home, then wouldn't crank... That was the same battery from Oct. 2000. AAA brought out a new battery, and vroom- we were on our way.

The other trucks were flawless too. So, while I haven't owned a GM since 1997, I've watched them from afar, and I've noticed the improvements. Today, Ford is still doing well. While they will never be the style leader- in terms of substance, their trucks (F-150), cars (2006 - Present Fusion & 2010 Taurus), and SUV's (Edge, Explorer, Expedition) are all very well done, tough, and long lasting vehicles.

Today, GM is doing what we always knew they could- and that's build good cars and trucks. GM will only get better- they have to. Recent releases like the 1st & 2nd generation of the CTS, the GMT900 trucks, the Enclave/Outlook/Arcadia, G8, Buicks, GMC Terrain, and other new cars like the Volt- is movement in a positive direction. While they will never be all things to all people, with movement in the right direction (overhead problems, high gas prices (killing truck/SUV sales), unions and a need to restructure of their business- is what really killed GM) GM will return to prominence again, if they keep doing what they are doing- as well as they have been recently.

Hats off to them. Keep improving GM, some of us are rooting for you.

Ford, hire Chris bangle if it's not too late. Maybe he can breathe some inspiration into the Lincoln line up (Although that new MKS is sexy). As for their big cars, Lincoln needs inspiring design to make people want to put some luxury models into their garages, rather than fleet sales.

Chrysler: The 300, and its siblings (Charger, Challenger, and Magnum) were steps in the right direction- which was taken while under Daimler. More steps need to be taken that way. As for the rest of the line up, Quality Control (QC) needs to become a priority- rather than an after thought.

And, whichever artist, and whatever panel members that approved the design of the Durango and Aspen- need to be taken out back and severely beaten. Then fired. They also need to find a way to become the leader in the vehicle they lead the way on- the minivan. They've let Honda, Toyota, and Kia wrestle that leadership away from them. When I drop my son off at school in the morning, I feel like I'm at a Honda Odyssey convention. I have yet to see a Caravan or a Town & Country. That wouldn't have been the case 10 - 15 years ago.

Complacency leads to mediocrity. They better get relentless, like Lexus...

Mercedes and BMW aren't laughing at the LS, GS, IS, or ES anymore... They were giggling and snickering in 1989 - 1990; Today- Lexus is the #1 luxury brand in terms of sales, and trails only Acura in terms of resale value of it's models- and that's probably because Acura's are more scarce on the used car Market than Lexus.