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It's a sad day for BMW. Despite the misgivings regarding the powertrain, the ATS is the more appealing car, especially exterior-wise. The only reason I could never consider the ATS seriously, is the fact that the 3.6L simply cannot touch BMW's N54/N55 and it's not available with a manual transmission. HOWEVER, the V6 and V8 families are due for a redesign (starting with the Gen V small block V8 in the C7 Corvette).
If they offer the ATS-V with the next-gen small block V8 + manual transmission. I could honestly stop lusting after the M3. In fact, GM if you're reading this ... don't go the turbocharged V6 route. The smallblock V8 is by far the best V8 in the world when considering efficiency, packaging, cost, and power.
Build the ATS-V with the new V8 + manual transmission, and I think you will give current M3 owners something to look at for much cheaper $$$.
"Build it and they will come"
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