German Car Zone

^No matter what the domestics do, no matter how hard they try it appears as if it will never be enough for some.

not getting 100 hp per litre with a super charger isnt breaking any technological berriers.
Quit worshiping the car, we know nothing about it except what the press release told us
so please give me a break.....

i think this car will have same driving character as the c63 amg; crazy fast on straight line but not so elegent on the bends.

i mean if you compare its weight with c63 amg and e63 amg, which are 1730 kg and 1830kg, respectively, with its weight of 1950kg (automatic, just to be fair). cts-v is like a pig. all that horsepower and torque without awd on a sedan of this weight is not going to be very dynamic i think. but may be cadillac can pull of some miracles like nissan with its gtr on this one tho, who knows.

You guys really make it sound like neither Mercedes or Cadillac can make a car handle. We're talking about a the slightest of differences in most cases between MB AMG and BMW M cars, in most cases regarding handling. This Cadillac will be more than capable in the corners. Cadillac knows this car doesn't stand a chance at really gaining any ground on the Germans unless it handles too. The new CTS is a good base for such a car already.

M

1950 kg for CTS-V?
you will notice the weight in the corners. Weight is a dead enemy for a cars agility. CTS-V will be an awesome Autobahn torpedo. But its not a car you want to play around with on a track but thats not the point with this car anyway so...

I think it is fantastic to see Cadillac getting its act together ......seriously, I really thought the US car industry was slowly dying ....I certainly would not underestimate the potential for Cadillac to eventually produce something that'll frighten the hell out of Stuttgart.

The CTS-V is a great car. It has some nice aggressive detailing from a styling perspective and it has some very scary output figures. I doubt very much that the CTS-V will be a poor handler, for its intended application it'll probably corner like the dickens.

However, the CTS-V's biggest problem is that, like many fine American cars, it lacks global relevance. It's not a worldly car - instead it remains very much a domestic market product tailored to local taste... Built by Americans for Americans.

A Mercedes Benz E63 is a global car, engineered to be superior in every market in which it competes, regardless of which side of an ocean you're on or your lattitude south of the Pyramids.

So yes, CTS-V: great in isolation but for the rest of the world, a distant curiousity vividly representative of the most insular automotive market in the world.

Cadillacs may be great in the US but down here all we ever see now and again is the BLS. And that's a horrid little turd on wheels.

^ Cadillac will be offered to the RHD markets later this year.

^ Ja, but it's trickle feed numbers. And, I question the profitability of these RHD models.

This is a very valid point Martin ....I agree entirely with your post.

However, I think in some ways the true "Americaness" of Cadillac is also one of its most important and appealing attributes. Cadillacs are intrinsically American -- the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado is The American car of the American century (the 20th century) IMO.

I understand what you are saying about Mercedes being a global brand producing global cars ....but I would be sad to see Cadillac lose its American character ....a certain level of American patriotism is at the heart of the marque ...much like Britain and Rolls-Royce (we'll just ignore the facts of that situation for the sake of the point ...shall we )