Not to mention the subtle but inevitable, "market adjustment"
your friendly, local stlr will tack on.

Its back.

yum...

Here is my dilemma, M3 sedan with options I want: $64,000 prior to taxes, registration, gas guzzler and all that BS. For the near same price or lower, I could get CTS-V series (with 550 ponies).... :dunno:

Interlagos Blue is so nice........here's a visualization

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...nR/M3sedan.jpg

Exterior

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...aninterior.jpg

Interior. Yes, that includes DCT ;) (And MDrive, and Business sat nav, alcantara/cloth upholstry......)

You know it isn't all about the ponies. The CTS-V is the best American sedan hands down, but the M3 is much more special. What do you think resale comparisons will look like between the two 4 years from now?

The real photos of the black M3 look amazing. They have really been pushing white with this new M3 and I am beginning to like it a lot more than I have in the past.

what's up with the funky speaker grilles... :dunno:

Well it is a good thing it isn't about the torque & hp...BMW would get blasted. :rofl:

Hmm, not seeing exactly how the M3 is much more special but that is expected on a Bimmer forum :)

M's are still great, but GM and others have closed the gap IMO.

The CTS-V, if I know GM well enough, will probably lack refinement and dignity. It's just too loud for my tastes, both visually and audably. Fast and flash is all good for maybe 5% of the time, but the rest of the time, I want quiet, more subtle way to cruise. For years, //M cars were always terrific performers that were quietly shrouded by subtle cues. Now, with the E60 M5 that tradition went straight out the window, but seriously, the Caddy is too much flash.

Well as an owner of the previous M3, the rasp was God awful annoying as was the lack of torque and the constant need to be in the high-end of the power band.

I will be curious to see how the V8 version performs, but if you haven't seen the new CTS in person...you don't know what you're missing IMO.

Comparing the CTS-V to the M3 is like comparing apples to oranges.

The M3 is more of a true race car with a high-revving 8,300 rpm engine where the CTS-V is more like an AMG MB with a ton of raw horse power and a lot of weight. The Caddy is going to have a ton of straight line power, but is not going to know what to do with it as well as the M3. You have to remember that the M3 lacks the ponies, but weighs in at around 3,700 lbs, nearly 500 lbs lighter than the CTS-V. Think about this, the CTS-V weighs 4,200 lbs manual and 4,300 with an automatic. To put that in perspective that is somewhere between an M5 (4,012 lbs) and a 750i (4,486 lbs). It is a pig. It is going to need every one of those ponies to haul it's fat a$$ around.

Don't get me wrong, I think it looks great and is a huge step forward for American sedans, but besides raw power, the M3 is going to eat it up in every other aspect. I would love to see how many CTS-V owners track their cars. If you want a 4 door sedan that has a ton of ponies to drag stoplights on the street go fo the CTS-V or the AMG, but if you want an all around performer, the M3 is the clear choice.

I do have to agree with you on the exhaust note of the e46 M3 though. It was horrible and didn't suit the car. Here is a sound clip of the new M3 revving. I think it is safe to say that the rasp is a thing of the past with the new V8.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2vZV...eature=related