Again, why care about the Germans?
If Cadillac cared nothing about what the germans did, there would be no ATS, infact there would be no modern day Cadillac.
They're after 3 series buyers, not corvette V8 loving buyers. Now, it's true that traditionally BMW has been about high revving N/A engines, but with the S63tu wooing buyers into the F10 over the S85, I'm not so certain their core fanbase will be so quick to shun a F/I M3. BMW's certinally betting on a bright F/I future. Nearly their entire lineup is F/I. Clearly Cadillac is willing to follow in their stead with the 2.0T and LF3.
If "tech savvy" buyers will gravitate towards a TTV6 as opposed to an LT1, then they are ignorant as car guys and may not appreciate a "V." What higher tech does the TTV6 have that the LT1 doesn't have? Four valves per cylinder, turbocharging and supercharging have been around since the early 1900's. So I guess that hype is more important than reality?
Appreciation means nothing. Sales do.
and you can't look at it from a pure technology perspective. Tech buyers, like new and exciting products. The LF3 is new and exciting. I don't look at the engine and say ' what a refinement of 100 year old hardware that is' I look at it and say 'hmmm I wonder what 600hp from this thing would feel like'
That's what makes euro-people get all happy in their pants about. Individuality. There's a shocking lack of that in the LS powered world where if you're not making 1000HP you're a no body.
Someone that's made 700whp in a B5 S4 though... he's a crazy maniac, and he's my idol that I might drive up 400 miles to waterfest and see though.
That's what the CTS-V misses. A community like that. We have comparatively nothing, and seek to mooch off other chevrolet events that are numerous to the point of laughability. I mean, we're all nice and friendly here on the forum and such, but it's different for certain.
I'm not saying that a single engine would change the entire brand into something like the VAG empire of GTI's and slamed A4's, but having our own unique, tunable engine would go a long way to brining the enthusiast community together to help each other out when the cars age a bit and need TLC. When we can't run to LStech or corvette forums for help.
Also,
Most M3 buyers don't drive their cars past road-racing and grocery getting-- which the LF3 is ideal for.
M3 owners don't typically track their vehicles to 'appreciate them', I've seen 10 times as many E46 3 series cars than I have any make or model M3 at the local autocross days. They don't pack LS engines, they pack 200hp I6's, so to bring up appreciation would be over-reaching as an aspect that the normal M3 buyer posses.
In my opinion, they're looking a pretty fast car that also is easily driveable every day, and maybe a badge, but to say that the M3 isn't a great car would not be doing it justice either.
If they think that they're going to attract more customers with a fuel-efficient powertrain that also happens to output better numbers than whatever the M3's packing, they're going to take it, and the LF3 has the best chance of that.
The only chance the V8 has is if GM decides to have a boblutz moment at the last second at throw the corvette LT1 in there. I rather doubt that will happen, considering they want to not just win over N/A but win globally where gas is $9 a gallon. So I'm betting on an LF3.
Don't get me wrong.,
I completely understand and partially agree with your logic.
I love the idea of an LT1 ATS, it retains some american values in a compact platform. However, where our fantasies and reality come together the truth is that Cadillac has never been about using up what GM has to offer from the small block.There have been only 2 'mistakes' of this occurring in Cadillac's past, and it's only within the last decade where the northstar simply wasn't sufficient to provide the power they needed (because they used it in the STS)
They have throughout the decades intentionally gone out of their way to produce anti-LS engines. Be it the northstar, using the 3.6 LFX, or the various caddy- branded V8's from the 50s-80s. Cadillac has always been about doing it's own thing and trying to differentiate itself from the laymans corvette/truck motor. All of that was prior to them aggressively taking on europe.