Premium German automaker BMW is reportedly working on its latest high-performance road car to rival the Cadillac ATS-V: the BMW M3 CS, where “CS” stands for “Coupe Sport”.
Like the BMW M4 CS unveiled last April, the M3 CS will slot above the 3-series’ standard M-badged car when it drops sometime next year. It will be “the most powerful M3 of all time,” according to Bimmer Today, with the same 460 peak horsepower as the M4 CS, courtesy of a twin-turbocharged 3.0L inline-6. All that power in the CS-badged M4 equates to a 3.9-second sprint to 100 kmph (62 mph).
Compare that to the Cadillac ATS-V, which can reportedly hit 60 mph in around 3.7 seconds when equipped with the available 8-speed automatic.
BMW’s new M3 CS will also reportedly ship with a lighter curb weight than the standard M3’s 3,540 pounds, thanks in part to a serving of carbon fiber. The ATS-V, meanwhile, tips the scales at a hefty 3,812 pounds in sedan form.
With the BMW M3 CS, the premium German brand threatens to deal yet another blow to Cadillac’s excellent ATS-V sedan – a car already outgunned by Italy’s Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio. The silver lining: BMW wants €116,900 (over $130k US) for the M4 CS in Germany, and the newer M3 CS likely won’t be far behind. The ATS-V costs less than half that.
(Source: Motor1)
Moving opposite to market trends.
With four model years recommended for purchase.
This example is a former NCRS award winner.
Many automakers oppose right-to-repair laws citing cybersecurity concerns.
Breaking out the spec sheets for a comparison.
View Comments
I'm all for being a fan of GM vehicles. And I've owned both a CTS and CTS-V. But BMW is the benchmark.
Like I've said repeatedly on this site, until Cadillac gets proper 3/5/7 Series competitive Sedans, they will never be taken seriously. Make a bunch of CUV's to bring home the bacon but it's those three segments that define your worth as a luxury maker. Period.
You get those three Sedans correct, sales of CUV's will skyrocket even more so. Then you can even get into Niche markets where the huge profits are at. Look at Audi...Started with A4/A6/A8 and now have almost as many models and niche vehicles as BMW and Mercedes.
Why does Cadillac have to fit into the specs and "classes" set by a German car maker? This is Cadillac, a leader not a follower. All Cadillac needs to do is lead and make great cars to their own specifications, not someone else's.
The "Let's imitate BMW" strategy has been tried by Cadillac since 1981, and it's failed every time (including the Cimarron and Catera, and their successors the ATS and CTS). Time for Cadillac to be Cadillac again, not "CMW".
Because the Germans totally dominate the luxury car segment.
Sit in an M3 and then a CTS-V and you'll understand.
"Sit in an M3 and then a CTS-V and you’ll understand."
Actually I have no interest in either of those, but how would I "understand"? Are you saying that you prefer the look of the dashboard and controls of the M3? Or that you prefer the seats of the M3? How would sitting in them make me feel different? And isn't the ATS supposed to be the Cadillac in the M3 "class", rather than the CTS?
I wouldn't say that the Germans totally dominate the luxury segment, when Lexus has a 16.0% share of the US luxury market, to MB's 16.4%. But yes in total MB, BMW, and Audi sell a lot of cars to the luxury market. And what's the best way to ensure that Cadillac will never be number one again? To let the Germans set the various specs and then try to "me too" them (always one generation behind), instead of pioneering their own luxury path the way they used to.
Here comes South Korea with their "Genesis" division of Hyundai. They apparently plan to make a series of cars that will be completely derived from the German originals, but they'll be cheaper. Which is about like having a well-made Chinese knock-off of a Rolex; it might work just as well, but if you care about "status symbol" value, then you have to get a real Rolex.
The Genesis situation though just makes it worse that Cadillac is playing the "German wannabe at a cheaper price" game. The knockoff fans who want to save money will save even more with Genesis over Cadillac. Again this just underscores that Cadillac needs to go its own way, offer unique products, rather than feeling a need to imitate BMW spec for spec and "class" for "class".
There's room in the market for the pinnacle of American luxury, which is what Cadillac was when it ruled the US luxury market for decades, was mentioned in numerous songs, etc. The market does not need another German wannabe on a budget.
I'm not saying that Cadillac is Rolls Royce, but think about it - does RR feel a need to make models that directly fit into BMW's 3,5, and 7 series specs? Of course not, the are RR, they go their own way. So too should Cadillac. The results are obvious. Cadillac has declined from #1 in US luxury sales to #5 (and falling), not because it failed to imitate the Germans but because it attempted to imitate the Germans.
Look what happened when Coca-Cola changed its formula to taste more like Pepsi, in the 1980's. People who liked Coca-Cola hated the change, and people who liked Pepsi already had Pepsi. Eventually Coca-Cola came to its senses and changed back. Now I'm not saying that Cadillac needs to start making replicas of old Cadillacs, but they need to make modern Cadillacs with actual Cadillac values, instead of BMW values. In other words, they need to go back to being a leader instead of a follower.
I did exactly that when I was at NAIAS this year. Take a good look at design, the quality of materials, technology and the way the product is presented and Cadillac comes across as 20 years behind the times. Other than styling, there is nothing "uniquely" American, which the German brands aren't covering in droves. They offer niches on niche products. Cruisers, autobahn weapons, coupes, convertibles, hybrids, SUVs of all kind and in the next few years full electric versions. If you're thinking of the floating boats of the 70's, that market is extinct. In terms of domination, BMW, Mercedes and Audi alone had sales of 7 million in 2016 vs Cadillac at a measly 170K. And the Germans are in all major markets in the world. Not just the US and China. In fact, when you look at the breath of the German offering, Cadillac isn't even a luxury brand. At best, it's near-luxury like Acura or Infinity with limited distribution.
When it comes to business, it's all about the money and nothing else matters. BMW and Daimler makes boat loads of it.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/280346/ebit-margin-of-the-leading-car-manufacturers/
The short version of what Drew is saying,
In my words.
Hey BMW, I'll call you on your M4, and your soon to be M3 CS and raise it with a ZL1-1LE!
Done, now where was I.
Agree with you Drew, Cadillac should build a better Cadillac, not try to build a better BMW, that is BMW's job. Chevy should concentrate on building a better Chevy, Buick a better Buick.
Calling this M3 an ATS-V fighter is an optimistic term even for a Cadillac fan. If GM wanted something other than a "me too" placeholder in this space, they would have dropped an LT1 V8 in the ATS-V. What a squandered opportunity...
When it's time for General Motors to develop a ATS replacement, they should name Camaro Chief Engineer Al Oppenheiser the Chief Engineer for both the ATS and the Camaro; while Oppenheiser will be designing the Cadillac first, he knows and understands everything that was wrong with the ATS and why the Camaro is a superior road car than the ATS despite sharing many similarities.