S2000

I like M5 for as the overall package. Wide power band that allows you to rev to 8400RPM is intoxicating. People buy aftermarket exhaust for the sound quality eventhough it may not improve their HP or speed but it sounds " fun & fast ". I like to rev the engine to redline , it is a different feeling when you drive around 40-70mph in 2nd gear (keeping RPM above 4000) vs. driving around with low RPM like diesel machine even if they both give the same acceleration time. It is just more fun to hear the engine rev. Sure M5 5.0L lower torque at low RPM than supercharged 6.2L at low RPM but we have to option to downshift and rev it. The other car just does not have the fun near redline....after 5k RPM the fun is over.

chastee1

That's true...but torquey engines have fun down low. That's the beauty of them - you can be driving around town at 2500 rpm, not have to downshift at all, because when you need to move you simply plant your foot and spin/launch. I have a low rpm torque monster and the M5. Outside of the sound of revving to 8,000 rpm and the thought that it's cool there isn't much else to it. My M5 makes power from 5,000 - 8,200 and my Dart makes power from 2500 - 5900. The spread is actually better on the lower shifting car. It's not as if the higher revving engine automatically means a broader power band that produces more horsepower/area under the curve through that range. If you've got monster torque numbers your horsepower is higher at that rpm.

Don't get me wrong - I love my M5 and screaming down the road at 8,000 rpm....but I also like going like a bat out of hell from normal crusing revs in cars with torque.

Black M5

Flicking a few times on your "near fingers" paddle is also cool to get that monster power out of the car

chastee1

Agreed! As I did yesterday crusing across I-80 from Sacramento to SF - came across two brand new Maseratis and a Ferrari...down shifted to third and tore past the Ferrari (which looked like the new Scuderia). No play though - I think they may have been transporting the car or out on a test drive....they looked fresh from the factory.

Wish I had/have an opportunity to drive the V. I grew up in Detroit and have always had serious loyalty....the M is my first foreign car. Now that I'm in CA the atmosphere is totally different and it's OK to show up at a client's office in an expensive/foreign car - previously I always had modest American sedans (when calling on clients in the MidWest). Plus all of my GM stock turned to crap, my father was let go from GMAC, and they no longer honored the newly let go employees/families with the employee purchase plan. So if I truly would allow myself to drive ANY car I wanted without feeling guilty....it was the M5 :-) And I have not been dissapointed!!

iconoclast

looks like a pretty good starting line up of cars:

Cadillac Notes | Meet the V-Series Challengers ? Preliminary List

curious to see what else pops up...

M5Ranger

Okay I've deliberately tried to stay away from posting but have still lurked around.
Now iconoclast who's the "fanboy"! You come on here with a BS challenge with your BS caddy.
Your chrome-laiden geriatric looking caddy is pathethic.
First of all it is GM (gov't motors) and I will NEVER buy a product from this BS Obama admin.
Second the caddy with 6.2L SC'er motor just barely inches past the 5.0L NA M5. W0W how impressive.
Even coming out after with the benefit to out perform the M5 it only just barely accomplishes the task.

Now lets make it a fair fight. Put a SC'er in the M5. GAME OVER. That POS Caddy will not be in the
M5's mirrors.
Dispacement is king so run a Dinan stroker (5.7L NA) against that POS caddy. Result is a dead caddy.

Bottomline is that the comparison is NOT FAIR! Lets make it fair and put a blower on the M5. Result again would be a dead caddy.

Talk about quality, would you buy a 3 year caddy? HELL NO! You can buy an excellent used M5 for less than a new caddy and have an infinitely better car. The caddy is a GM plastic chrome-laiden POS that's a "rattle-trap" in 2 years.

When I'm 85 (in the nursing home) maybe I'll consider a POS caddy because I'll need all that chrome and shine to help me find my car.

Caddy owners when the M5 gets a blower or TT (coming baby) you better run and hide. The caddy likes to be a bully and can not take a fair fight.

I hate the caddy, it is crap. It can not compete against fair comparison plus it is uglier than sin.
I would NEVER support Obama Gov't Motors.

We have an E60 M5 with nitrous (equalizer against a blower) running a 10.57 sec 130 trap 1/4 mile. Okay caddy run that time and trap with your blower and greater displacement. I will even grant you all your bolt on mods. Come on just do it (like Nike says).

Enough. The caddy is an inferior product and remains such.

This topic pissed me off. iconoclast you are the fanboy because you do not comprehend the facts.

Ranger goodbye

__________________
2006 M5 Alpine White/Silverstone (I miss it)
2007 GT3RS ORANGE / BLACK
2006 M5 BLACK / BLACK

gsfent

I had a good chuckle going through this. Ranger is fired up!

Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Plenty of people have issues with the E60 styling. To each his own.
Yeah, I am less than pleased how GM pulled off a bankruptcy that would have had the press howling if it was almost any other industry. Jammed through a compete Chapter 7 in less than 60 days; usually take 6-12 months. Could you imagine, say, AIG trying to do that??


Why? Caddy choose a low stress supercharged motor of larger displacement. Certainly a lot more room for aftermarket goodies to really up the hp. If you want to do that on the E60, you have spend big bucks for either NOS, TT, or a stroker. Since when is engine size the end all and be all?


Well, true enough if your definition of "fair fight" is identical components and identical size, even though different manufacturers have long had different philosophies about how to get to a certain point.
. However, in the real world, I suggest the fight is usually over how much you have to spend to go how fast (not the only factor, but for most people in the real world with some type of budget, the biggest one). So, let's make it a true fair fight for most folks, let's cap the MSRP at say, $65k. Now what happens? Caddy saves $30k . Can't come close to a new M5. Or you can put up an M3 (which is slightly less money). Dollar for dollar, who wins now? Or you can say, fine, let's cap the cost at $95k. Now, Caddy has $30k to spend on mods? Sorry, but with all the tuners out there, M5 won't stand a chance in a straight line, and I suspect there is plenty of money for both motor and suspension work for the twisties.

Based on past GM quality, I would be cautious, no doubt about it. But given the price point (what, $25k?), and given the aftermarket, I wouldn't be too concerned.

Well, that is always the equation, is that a "fair fight", new vs. used??


Maybe. Fogotten is the host of problems on the 06 and some 07's, SAS and SMG to name two big items. BMW should have known there were problems, but allowed the general public, who were purchasing close to $100k cars to be their "beta" testers. Shame on BMW; does not speak well for BMW "quality".
Or idrive? Yeah, you can learn it, but it was less than stellar. The whole idea was to get rid of all the buttons. Audi came up with a better design, MMI, which had 4 buttons to get you to the right function and then fine tune it with the wheel. BMW's idrive everyone defended has been "improved' (changed) to reflect the issue and BMW has essentially adopted Audi's approach. So the whole reason for idrive, no buttons, has been defeated.
Lots of people like SMG. It had lots if issues, and continues to perform less than flawlessly. Now it is mostly software issues (hey, Microsoft has those problems too). But SMG was such an engineering feat for the E60, that by the very next generation, it has gone the way of the dodo bird and expected to give way to DCT (or whatever the dual clutch transmission is ultimately called by BMW).

But, generally, the quality of the interior is better than GM quaility, so I would expect the interiors to hold up better and have less squeaks and rattles since the BMW's are generally put together better.

Have you seen the new ones? Chrome laden? Not really, but hey, if the chrome bothers you, easy to black out. Whether it will be a rattle trap in 2 years is unknown, and based on past history, there is a fair chance of that occurring.

POS? Possibly. I bet there are some E60 M5 owners who feel the same. Ashok??
How much will you have invested? $150k? Hardly seems like a "fair fight", with enough money, you can accomplish almost anything. Including making a CTS-V that will overwhelm the TT M5.

Why do you hate it so much. Did it do something to you. Did it date your daughter??

Boy, is that a slippery slope. Lots of folks outside this board say the same about the E60. Awful tough to design something that will please everyone.

I understand. The irony is, WE own 60%. So it is like a McDonalds owner going out and buyng Burger King. Yeah, it may taste better, but he is hurting his own franchise! I would consider buying GM based on the car (product) and not the owner (government/ the people).

Most folks will wait for the warranty to expire, but since the CTS-v is relatively new, I wouldn't expect to see that for a year or two. Just about the time the F10 M5 comes out!!


Really? It was hard to tell,

I think a lot of your "facts" are opinions, and each of us are welcome to our own. I like BMW a WHOLE lot more than GM, but if I had to replace my car tomorrow, and needed a full size 4 door sedan covering distances with comfort and speed, I would at least consider the Caddy.

I don't think iconoclast was being a Caddy "fan boy" (although he was brave to post his thoughts here), but I think he makes legitimate points.

OK, flame suit on, fire away!

Regards,
Jerry

__________________
'01 Black/caramel
Dinan Stage 3 suspension, SS jet coated headers, ESS SC kit w/ 1 range colder NGK's, open brake ducts, Hamann front splitters, TEC cupholder, U.S.(Euro style) tilt/slide armrest, 6k HID fogs, 6k super white low beams, V1/Stealth1, dual head LI, 2.65 diff w/40% lockup/2x dynamic, compact spare, Euro trailer hitch, Mocal oil cooler, ACS type rear spoiler, Rogue custom SSK and tranny mounts, ST 355 BBK (fronts), BP sway bar brackets, Bluetooth retrofit

Black M5

This is getting pathetic. BMW is hands down, up, upside down the better built car. There is no doubt about that and we wont argue about that. Now if anyone cant afford it or any of the other top end goodie cars. Fine, then buy yourself a car and brag thats its better and blah blah blah.

Just like the saying goes "if you cant reach the grapes.. You are going to say they are sour"


Lastly before i go, this to everyone who brings price when comparing American to European cars. The last is more expensive for a reason. Just like Ranger said, trying comparing both 3 or 4 years down the line and then report back! The King shaked rattled and rolled and thats what you will be doing in choice number one. Do you know what my dad says about American cars? Forget about 3 or 4 years, he says sell it before its 6 months old cuz thats when it really turns bad and ugly. Now where did that price arguement go?

I settle my case and lets talk about the F10 cuz rumors are it will be out next summer...

BEMR

Just my 2 cents:

My wife drove a CTS for about 3 years, when we got it for her, we thought it was cool. Shortly after buying it we realized that the majority of the CTS drivers were Gray Haired Grannies, you started feeling old driving it. I mean really, if a Cadillac Coupe De Ville came in a 600 hp turbo charged V10 I wouldnt drive even if it did 0-60 in 3.8 seconds, I just wouldnt. Until you own a CTS, you have no idea how many old codgers go for that model car. Yes, yes, we didnt have the CTS-V but the "Codgers Touring Sedan" is not for me.

In all fairness, you can modify a 7 Series BMW all you want and the body style still says "Codger" all day long.

Bemr

__________________
2008 M5 Alpine White w/Portland
2007 335 Alpine White (lilbemr)

M5Ranger

gsfent you're upsetting me because I do not wish to post much.
Now you took quite detail and time to respond. My man you need a woman.

Talking about price and used vs. new. I would think the used car would have the disadvantage. Regardless I'll take a used '06 M5 (~48k) and do a stroker. Price will be close to the new caddy and the caddy's dead.

Look I can rebute all your points but it's useless and will not waste my time. btw who cares about the idrive. Oh and I had an Audi RS4 and the MMI was nothing special. Sold it in 18 months. The car did not have a heart. Got tired of modded E46 M3's eating my lunch.
Oh and there's no chrome on that POS caddy? You better open your eyes, it's everywhere. You need sunglasses to look at it.

You better sell your M5 and get that caddy. I opposed to you will not support this POS prez and admin. I can tell where you're coming from.
You better get your beloved caddy.

Oh check this out. Here's an E92 M3 with simple mods giving your beloved caddy a hard time and the M3 has a passenger.

YouTube - Modded E92 M3 takes on a Stock Cadillac CTS-V

It must be all that chrome weighing it down. It can not even soundly beat an M3. Pathetic caddy.

Ranger