GM's Bob Lutz is staking the Cadillac CTS-V against all-comers as part of General Motors "May the Best Car Win" advertising challenge. Automotive Traveler is up to the challenge and takes him up on his offer.

The Cadillac CTS is in the opinion of this reviewer, a world-class luxury car, a clear case where GM set the development bar high against its intended competition, and in most regards, exceeded expectations. Clearly, offering a class-competitive entry closer in size and power to a BMW 5 Series while priced closer to a 3 Series was a smart positioning move. This was followed by the introduction of the mammothly-powered CTS-V, with a 556-horsepower engine that would set at the time a production sedan lap record at the Nürburgring of 7:59:32 (anything under eight minutes is damn fast). The CTS-V clearly had the BMW M5 in its crosshairs and its time to tell the automotive world that America had finally came to play with the big dogs. Now, how to get this message across? Thus the CTS-V Challenge at the Monticello Motor Club 90 miles north of New York City.

Of course in the highly competitive world of the automotive blogs--AutoBlog, Jalopnik, CarDomain, The Truth About Cars, Left Lane News to name but a few--such a challenge isn't taken lightly. Already it's gotten somewhat ugly with Jalopnik apparently "stealing" the ride of The Truth About Cars--a Jaguar XF-R--and seemingly co-opting the program as if it was their own, instead of it being a GM/Cadillac/Bob Lutz affair. But that's OK in our book, so long as GM invites us to the party where we plan to show up in a 2009 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8. Yes, I know what you're saying, "Are you crazy Rich?" Crazy like a fox. Let me explain why. The choice of the Jeep Grand Cherokee makes mores sense than might be immediately apparent.

First off, I'm a Jeep owner and by any measurement standard, the Grand Cherokee SRT8 is a pretty impressive piece of kit, one you get beyond the instrument panel that looks like it was designed by the product development team at Fisher-Price. I've driven the Grand Cherokee SRT8 at the press launch, extensively at Willow Springs, and on two different editorial evaluation loans. Each time I came away impressed thinking here's a credible alternative not only to the Range Rover Sport for about $20,000 less, but for several other sport sedans. With 420-horsepower and the security of a performance-tuned all-wheel-drive system (the SRT8 version of the Grand Cherokee is not Trail Rated) I'm thinking that the Jeep might be just the ticket to tame the Monticello Motor Club circuit which features some of the longest straights found on any road course in North America.

In fairness to all participants I wonder if "Maximum Bob" will be spending the next week or so at the Monticello Motor Club practicing or will he get a few practice laps on the morning of the event just like the rest of the drivers? After all, for the challenge to be fair the playing field should be equal, otherwise it's all pretty much meaningless. And then there's the apparent conflict in the official rules saying that the challenger must bring their own to the CTS-V Challenge, a classic "run what you brung" scenario. This seems to run counter to the pre-Challenge hoopla among the blogs who are obviously going to various manufacturers to secure a manufacturer press vehicle, Automotive Traveler included.

Now we know that this challenge will generate dozens, if not hundreds of credible challengers. And we certainly have no problem with GM inviting both Jalopnik and The Truth About Cars, both blogs are well read with a bit more traffic than Automotive Traveler (Alexa traffic rankings: Jalopnik--3,904; The Truth About Cars--27,995; Automotive Traveler--118,832, a respectable number that compares favorably with GM's own Cadillac blog coming in at 180,071) as well as two of the big automotive buff books (can you say Motor Trend and Car & Driver), but with just five slots open, that leaves just one for "another" blog, thus our asking to be considered for that coveted spot. Given that I've driven both the Nürburgring and Le Mans twice--each track in a Ford GT--I think that my combination of qualifications and experiences matches up well with my colleagues in the blogging community. We hope the CTS-V Challenge selection committee at General Motors takes the Automotive Traveler entry seriously.

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Anonymous  - Looks Like You're Out of Luck |10-3-2009 I don't think your vehicle choice will work. The rules state, "Challenge Vehicle must be a production sedan, within the Cadillac CTS-V competitive set and not have any aftermarket modifications." A Jeep Grand Cherokee wasn't a sedan last time I looked, and is hardly in the Cadillac CTS-V's "competitive set." Or were you just kidding? ReplyQuote 0 0

richt |10-3-2009 If Bob Lutz is worried about an SUV beating the CTS-V, then he probably shouldn't have made the challenge in the first place. Yes, I was aware of that stipulation in the rules but believe that they are looking for vehicles with four doors, like a sedan. The fact that the Grand Cherokee has more cargo space really shouldn't factor in...in my opinion. And I went with this choice knowing that it could be disqualified on that basis. But I think that being an SUV should be seen as a disadvantage, one that I'm willing to accept in exchange for the advantage of AWD. Of course it's up to Cadillac to accept or decline my entry. Rich Truesdell Editorial Director, automotivetraveler.com ReplyQuote 0 0

richt |10-3-2009 In reality, and I think the powers at GM know this, is that while the CTS-V is a fine car, this is as much about the driver as it is about the car. Put Tony Stewart behind the wheel of a Malibu and I suspect he'll beat Bob Lutz, no matter what Bob is driving. This is not to say that I think I'm a better driver than Bob Lutz. I'm not saying that. What I am saying, and why I picked the Grand Cherokee SRT8, is that I'm familiar with it and that I think that AWD will make up for other issues, such as a disadvantage in the power-to-weight ratio department, and give me the best possible chance at making a good showing. That, and I'm a Jeep guy at heart and I personally believe that I've got a better chance in Grand Cherokee SRT8 than lets say, a Charger SRT8 with RWD. And it makes no sense to try to get a car that another blogger already has (Jalopnik with the XF-R) or seeking a competitive set sedan from a manufacturer (Mercedes-Benz) that has already turned down participating in what I am sure they view as a GM publicty stunt. Which it obviously is and is a successful one at that judging by how much interest it's already garnered in the blogosphere. Just my follow-up two cents, Rich Truesdell Editorial Director, automotivetraveler.com ReplyQuote 0 0

See5 |10-3-2009 It will be tough for that truck to touch the Caddy. The CTS-V is extremely quick, not that the Jeep doesn't have power, but the CTS-V is trapping 116+mph in the quarter and putting down 480whp on the dyno. That's ridiculous. It's as quick or quicker than the C5 Z06(last-gen Corvette Z06). Not to mention the handing. The CTS-V should be able to go though and out of the corners quicker than the Jeep if Bob is decent(which I'm pretty sure he is). AWD won't make too much of a difference unless it's raining IMO. It'll be nice to see if they accept you anyway. You might catch him off guard for 2 or 3 laps. ReplyQuote 0 0

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