For anyone who didn't see how R&T rates cars in the test this is how it works. 1/3 of the score is performance data, 1/3 is subjective as to how well the car drives and 1/3 is based on price.

The 300 finished dead last in performance.

It also finished dead last in the subjective ratings.

Where the 300 came through was in price, being $20,000 less than the most expensive car gave it a huge lead in the price catagory with a perfect 200 pts.

The CTS came about it's win the old fashoned way a close second in performance and a clear victory in the subjective ratings.

 

I saw in an article on the Autoweek site that DC are watching GM's Kappa program - aka Solstice closely. I imagine the reverse is true for the General, since DC has brought mainstream/affordable RWD to the market first (I realize I'm ignoring Ford's geezer-mobile, the Crown Vic but it's hardly embraced by the market at large anyway) - even though Cadillac's SRX and CTS are already out. Can these two be considered mainstream product, as they are classified as prestige or luxury vehicles? At their price point they may a bit of a stretch for many of the middle-class consumers that could more comfortably afford a 300 or Magnum - since Zeta based cars are still a ways off. They could be a valuable barometer of RWD acceptance by the public and therefore indicate the potential success or failure of the whole "let's make RWD for the masses again" Zeta platform.

To that end, I hope sales explode for the DC twins even though I do prefer the CTS to the 300. It can only mean good things for GM's Zeta cars and performance - unless the ever-rising price of gas sucks the wind out of the market and it collapses - again.