Today’s marketers covet the kind of advertising that flows freely from the mouths and keyboards of influential demographic groups that cut through the clutter and sway purchase decisions through personal, educated recommendations. No matter the claims made by companies in print, television, or online advertising, knowledgeable bloggers everywhere will substantiate or refute them in detail on a heavily trafficked forum somewhere in cyberspace, effectively neutralizing any manufacturer that chooses to stretch the limits of truth-in-advertising laws. Smart consumers search this commentary out, compare it to what the experts are saying, and when a common thread emerges will make an informed purchase decision. Don’t believe it? Check out Epinions.com and tell us that a new day has not dawned.

On the vehicular landscape, car enthusiasts are the mouthpieces that the manufacturers frequently wish to reach. Everyone knows a car geek who is consumed with all things automotive – we’ve got them at the office, in our social network, and in our families. When the time comes to buy a new set of wheels, it is this person whom we turn to for advice about what to buy, where to buy, and how to buy it. If a manufacturer, such as Cadillac, is building cars and trucks that have captured the enthusiast’s attention, then the enthusiast will recommend that manufacturer to the consumer. Or so the theory goes, anyway. You know, Cadillac is cool these days. You should definitely check them out.

It is this theory that, in part, sparked the creation of Cadillac’s V-Series lineup in 2005. V-Series – it has a German ring to it, no? This is not surprising, given that BMW’s Motorsport and Mercedes-Benz’s AMG performance-tuned models served as the mold from which Cadillac V-Series was cast. Cadillac V-Series cars get more power, more torque, sportier suspensions, bigger brakes, better interiors, and big, fat, whopping price tags to ensure that they remain exclusive. Car freaks dream of owning them, and because they have the credentials that every motorhead uses to determine whether that coveted enthusiast-approved cachet should be bestowed, the rest of the Cadillac lineup benefits.

We decided to get acquainted with the Cadillac V-Series cars, factory-tuned performance versions of the CTS (the entry-level model), the STS (the Euro-style sport-luxury sedan), and the XLR (the convertible with the retractable hardtop), to see if GM’s luxury division has the goods to take on BMW M and Mercedes AMG cars, not to mention tweaked sets of wheels wearing Audi RS and Jaguar R badges. What we discovered during a week of driving all over Southern California might surprise you. It sure surprised us.