BMW and Driver: Audi RS5 vs. BMW M3 vs. Cadillac CTS-V

[sportyaccordy]

Remember the Coraddo? This is basically the same proportions.

This thing is the Corrado taken to nightmarish extremes

The Corrado actually had good visibility out the rear window. This thing might as well not even have one

And at least the Aztek served some purpose. This thing is like a Acura ZDX coupe

[2o6]

This thing is the Corrado taken to nightmarish extremes

The Corrado actually had good visibility out the rear window. This thing might as well not even have one

And at least the Aztek served some purpose. This thing is like a Acura ZDX coupe

This "Thing" is a regular Coupe to compete with the 3-series coupe and A5.

Besides.

[MrH]

Besides what? It has seats? Congrats, it's still hideous.

[sportyaccordy]

I guess to its credit rear headroom's not (or shouldn't) be a problem

[68_427]

Your statement would be valid if it was universally hated (i.e. Aztek) but it's not.


Remember the Coraddo? This is basically the same proportions.

In fact I saw one yesterday.

[Onslaught]

I'd have to feel it before I can bash it too much. But I hate that cars have fake aluminum trim these days. My car has it and it makes me mad. But if I got a car that cost that much and it had plastic painted like metal then I'd be more then mad.

[68_427]

The Audi faux metal stuff is absolutely terrible

[Colonel Cadillac]

I'd have to feel it before I can bash it too much. But I hate that cars have fake aluminum trim these days. My car has it and it makes me mad. But if I got a car that cost that much and it had plastic painted like metal then I'd be more then mad.

I agree, I hate faux aluminium. It's ugly. Fake wood is at least slightly more elegant.

[Raza]

The stuff on my car works.  I rather like it. 

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

I agree, I hate faux aluminium. It's ugly. Fake wood is at least slightly more elegant.

My moms CTS has a faux CF instead of wood. That would work better in the CTS-V!

[Nethead]

Did you ever consider the possibility they chose the M3 because it's a wonderfully brilliant car and is still the benchmark in it's class?

Score one for the MadDude!  One of the ten best cars money can buy, and one of the ten best cars ever.

[Nethead]

I'd have to feel it before I can bash it too much. But I hate that cars have fake aluminum trim these days. My car has it and it makes me mad. But if I got a car that cost that much and it had plastic painted like metal then I'd be more then mad.

Onslaught:  Mustangs have genuine aluminum trim in their interiors--no plastics posing as aluminum anywhere.  The trim in Mustangs that looks like aluminum does so because it is.  One less thing to hate in (some) cars these days.  

[Nethead]

In the end (heh heh), a valiant effort to be bold in paper & clay turned out to be fucked up in sheetmetal & glass.  Not Aztek fucked up, of course, but fucked up nonetheless... 

That awful, awful third brakelight is clearly the third eye of this vehicle.  

But in an era when coupes are scarce, the Nethead here has more charity than I otherwise would:  Give it a rest--the reality is none of us were gonna put a downpayment on a CTS coupe anyway, including those who claim ( ) to like the Baleful Buttocks.  But the Dreadful Derriere removes all residual guilt anyone mighta had for passing on a Cadillac again...

[Onslaught]

Onslaught:  Mustangs have genuine aluminum trim in their interiors--no plastics posing as aluminum anywhere.  The trim in Mustangs that looks like aluminum does so because it is.  One less thing to hate in (some) cars these days.  

Um, you sure about that? I've been in one and that didn't stand out to me. And any Ford I've worked (probably thousands)  on over the last 16+ years didn't have real aluminum. Just plastic with chrome over it.

[SVT666]

Um, you sure about that? I've been in one and that didn't stand out to me. And any Ford I've worked (probably thousands)  on over the last 16+ years didn't have real aluminum. Just plastic with chrome over it.

The Bullitt had a machined aluminum dash, but none of the other interiors in the car got it AKAIK.

[MX793]

Um, you sure about that? I've been in one and that didn't stand out to me. And any Ford I've worked (probably thousands)  on over the last 16+ years didn't have real aluminum. Just plastic with chrome over it.

2010 and up actually uses real aluminum trim pieces in the premium models.  Ford made a big deal about it when the car came out.

[SJ_GTI]

Count me as another that digs the way the CTS coupe looks (I dig the sedan too).

I haven't seen a CTS coupe on the road yet though, so that could change my mind...but in pictures I dig it.

BTW I am surprised the RS5 is so heavy. I thought Audi was making a concerted effort to trim down their cars weights recently.

I can understand the complaints about the steering in the Audi (relative to a BMW). My A4 1.8T didn't have particularly good steering and even my S4, while adequate, is nothing to write home about. This has always been a strong suit of BMW's though. I haven't driven a current gen CTS so I can't really comment on their car's steering, but the previous gen CTS had pretty good steering feel.

[sportyaccordy]

SJ I think your S4 is the first one to have the tie rods ahead of the front axle, which supposedly makes a huge difference. That might be nullified by quattro + the 2000lb of weight on the front wheels though.

[Nethead]

Um, you sure about that? I've been in one and that didn't stand out to me. And any Ford I've worked (probably thousands)  on over the last 16+ years didn't have real aluminum. Just plastic with chrome over it.

Yes, I am.  No plastic painted to look like aluminum.  It looks like aluminum because it is aluminum.  Tool on down to your local Ford dealer and check out an oh-eleven's interior.  Leave the checkbook at home--they're pretty tempting once you actually check 'em out like you would if you were thinkin' about buyin' one.

[Submariner]

I agree, I hate faux aluminium. It's ugly. Fake wood is at least slightly more elegant.

+1

Fake aluminum is painfully obvious - why some manufacturers insist on it, I will never know. 

[pendyman]

Wall Street Journal:

?Cadillac?s CTS-V Coupe Makes German Rivals Look Like Taxis?

Styling: Not even close. The CTS-V is a visual event, an annunciation, a car that radiates masculinity and soul as if it were a fresh fuel rod. Go ahead and park the CTS-V next to the German rivals. Open yourself up to the melancholic moment when the two other cars seem to shrink, to shrivel into ordinariness, to waste away like a worm on a hot muffler. I?m not saying the CTS-V is aesthetically perfect. I?m saying it makes the German cars look like taxis. End of debate.

Article:

http://blogs.wsj.com/drivers-seat/2010/08/06/cadillacs-cts-v-coupe-makes-german-rivals-look-like-taxis/

[AltinD]

LOL at WSJ "conclusion"