[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by WestRace

I really like the current ATV/CTS look and how they drive. The problem with GM -V versions is that they still are not able to capture the M-ness of BMW. Dan Neil once said that the ATS-V is not really a BMW M3 but feels more like a very well sorted high HP 335i coupe which I tend to agree. Anybody can make a car goes fast like the M3 nowaday ... I mean a based V8 Camaro or Mustang can go just as fast if not faster than the M3.

Engineering a car to have that BMW M feel is not quite so easy though. It takes more than just bolting on a high power engine and stiffening up the suspension (something which the Japanese cars are guilty of as well). It takes messing down to the bones and fleshes of these cars which will cost a lot of money too. To some extend the NSX which is designed and built in Ohio has the same problem when comparing to those of Ferrari, McLaren, R8 ...

I'd say BMW doesn't even make a car with the "3-series feel" anymore. I've not yet driven the G20, but of the five or so F30 variations I drove since its introduction, all lacked the BMW DNA. All of the four variants of the ATS I drove accomplished delivering a well-balanced, great handling chassis that one would expect a 3-series to have.

If the Alpha-2 chassis holds true to what the ATS delivered for driving dynamics, then that's half the game for me. I like the looks of the CT-4 so far. Maybe Cadillac will go rouge and actually put a V6 with a manual in it.