2005 Cadillac CTS-V

Cadillac's stealth-chiseled, four-door CTS-v was first of the trio to get past the bouncer at the 400-horsepower club, appearing for the 2004 model year with a Corvette Z06 5.7-liter V-8 packed, like a week's worth of clothes in an overnight bag, into an engine bay originally designed for a 3.2-liter V-6. We love the smell of overkill in the morning.

Yet this hyper-caffeinated Caddy, unlike so many of the 1960s-era muscle machines, isn't just a pair of Schwarzenegger biceps grafted onto a Will Farrell body. The Sigma chassis underneath is one of GM's best: tight, immensely strong, easily able to ward off the twisting efforts of the LS6 V-8's 400 horsepower and 395 pound-feet of torque. Also, Cadillac fine-tuned the chassis not at the Friday-night drags but at Germany's old Nuerburgring racetrack (a place so terrifying that even Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone will tell you, "We're not racing there--you think we're nuts?"). The CTS-v boasts other mil-spec hardware, too, including four Brembo disc brakes the size of trainer Frisbees and a Tremec six-speed manual that's the one and only transmission on the menu (indeed, with rivals now switching to automatics or manumatic paddles, the CTS-v is the only big-bore sport sedan in America that lets you stir your ratios for yourself).

When Pontiac's new Holden Monaro-based, Australian-built GTO arrived for 2004, it warmed our hearts. Many, including us, had hoped it would fry our adrenal glands. Equipped with a 350-horse, 5.7-liter LS1 V-8 (the 2004 Corvette's base engine) and a two-door body about as flamboyant as an Amish dance instructor, the 2004 GTO impressed us with its unfailing civility, but ultimately seemed a bit underwhelming given its menacing moniker--like meeting a Golden retriever named "Killer."