I've never been one to say the that I had to have something, regardless of debt, payment.... I'm just not wired that way.
But if I were given a hundred grand on the stipulation I had to buy a high performance car, I wouldn't cross the street to buy a Hellcat, regardless of color. But I'd go from one side of the country to the other to get a CT5V Blackwing in the right color with a 6 spd manual. It looks better (IMHO) than the Hellcat, it will runs circles around the Hellcat on the backroads, and if I wanted an automatic transmission it would compete quite well with a Hellcat on the strip (if I cared about that).
The slight lack of horsepower in the Blackwing is more than made up by the roughly 500 pounds less tonnage of the Hellcat. Which means straight line performance is close, but handling is far better.
As to how it sounds compared to the Hellcat - I really don't know or care. Loud, angry exhausts aren't my cup of tea. A healthy sounding exhaust is more than sufficient (and the Blackwing has that) for my tastes.
How many threads on this forum are about exhaust systems that are noisy and drone so much they take the enjoyment out of driving?
GM (old or new) doesn't "suck" anymore than any of the other manufacturers today. In all honesty, they are some of the best built cars and trucks on the road today. In the most recent JD Power long term dependability survey (of original owners of 2019 vehicles), All GM brands are above average. So are Ford and Lincoln.
Mopar? Well, 1 (Dodge) out of 4 (Ram, Jeep, Chrysler) is an improvement over 2021 (2018 models). Mercedes, Nissan, VW, Audi, Volvo, Honda and Acura are all below average.
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