This thought would have probably been inconceivable a decade ago. But now, there is a real possibility that this is a fair assessment.
Ever since the post sub prime crisis bailout, GM has taken pointed steps to reinvent itself and be more relevant in this, what can easily be called, the golden age of super and hypercars.
It has offloaded loss making brands (Hummer, Saturn, Opel – Vauxhall), exited countries where production was expensive (Australia), had a thorough rethink of how the business is managed and has invested in newer technologies (electric cars) & trends(ride-sharing).
Product development too seems to have become more engineering & design oriented and less hampered by budget cuts.
A prime example of this is the present generation C7 Corvette. This car in its Sting-Ray & Grand Sport variants can consistently hold a candle to the latest variants of the Porsche 911 – the class standard. This is not just in outright speed but also in all manner of handling tests. The Z06 version slightly falls short because of it having a totally acceptable problem of having too much power. GM made sure to poach a number of BMW engineers to work on this programme.
Further progress can be seen in the Alpha platform cars launched by GM since 2014. These include the Cadillac CTS and ATS, as well as the new Chevrolet Camaro. All these cars comfortably beat their BMW equivalents when it comes to dynamic capability. The ATS V and CTS V have comfortably more power than the M3 & M5 while being faster around every circuit they have been tested on. The Camaro in SS trim completely walks over the BMW M4. While being slightly more than half the price.
Having said that, these cars are still rough around the edges in terms of interior quality, infotainment systems and ergonomics, but these are minor issues in the bigger scheme of things.
BMW on the other hand, has not had a good run in terms of products in the last few years. The M3/M4 cars, while being massively capable, have lost way too much driver focus in the process. They are somewhat too adjustable and are generally known to have excessively reactive steering, sport suspensions which do not entirely work, and other such flaws. The M4 GTS, meant to correct these flaws, also is unnaturally difficult to drive. These cars have generally lost the appeal that lay in how driveable they were. The CTS V as mentioned earlier, along with the Alfa Romeo Giulia QV and the Mercedes C63 AMG are all either faster and/or more fun and easier to live with daily.
The new 7 series further illustrates the problem, this car tries to compete directly with the S Class and misses the mark. It tries to outdo the S Class at its own game, luxury and state of the art tech, but instead ends up with a gimmicky gesture control system, a so-so interior and no real progress in terms of engines or drivetrains.
This article does not try to heap praise or make pointed criticisms at either of these car-makers. Instead it tries to point attention to how the global car industry has evolved to a point where the more than century old stereotypes of cars from the USA being starkly different to European cars in terms of dynamics and driver satisfaction can no longer be justified. Case in point – both these firms run very advanced electric car development programs to not become irrelevant in the next phase of the evolution of the car.
Ever since the post sub prime crisis bailout, GM has taken pointed steps to reinvent itself and be more relevant in this, what can easily be called, the golden age of super and hypercars.
It has offloaded loss making brands (Hummer, Saturn, Opel – Vauxhall), exited countries where production was expensive (Australia), had a thorough rethink of how the business is managed and has invested in newer technologies (electric cars) & trends(ride-sharing).
Product development too seems to have become more engineering & design oriented and less hampered by budget cuts.
A prime example of this is the present generation C7 Corvette. This car in its Sting-Ray & Grand Sport variants can consistently hold a candle to the latest variants of the Porsche 911 – the class standard. This is not just in outright speed but also in all manner of handling tests. The Z06 version slightly falls short because of it having a totally acceptable problem of having too much power. GM made sure to poach a number of BMW engineers to work on this programme.
Further progress can be seen in the Alpha platform cars launched by GM since 2014. These include the Cadillac CTS and ATS, as well as the new Chevrolet Camaro. All these cars comfortably beat their BMW equivalents when it comes to dynamic capability. The ATS V and CTS V have comfortably more power than the M3 & M5 while being faster around every circuit they have been tested on. The Camaro in SS trim completely walks over the BMW M4. While being slightly more than half the price.
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| M4 GTS & Camaro SS Credits: MotorTrend |
BMW on the other hand, has not had a good run in terms of products in the last few years. The M3/M4 cars, while being massively capable, have lost way too much driver focus in the process. They are somewhat too adjustable and are generally known to have excessively reactive steering, sport suspensions which do not entirely work, and other such flaws. The M4 GTS, meant to correct these flaws, also is unnaturally difficult to drive. These cars have generally lost the appeal that lay in how driveable they were. The CTS V as mentioned earlier, along with the Alfa Romeo Giulia QV and the Mercedes C63 AMG are all either faster and/or more fun and easier to live with daily.
The new 7 series further illustrates the problem, this car tries to compete directly with the S Class and misses the mark. It tries to outdo the S Class at its own game, luxury and state of the art tech, but instead ends up with a gimmicky gesture control system, a so-so interior and no real progress in terms of engines or drivetrains.
This article does not try to heap praise or make pointed criticisms at either of these car-makers. Instead it tries to point attention to how the global car industry has evolved to a point where the more than century old stereotypes of cars from the USA being starkly different to European cars in terms of dynamics and driver satisfaction can no longer be justified. Case in point – both these firms run very advanced electric car development programs to not become irrelevant in the next phase of the evolution of the car.
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