Should you ask any arch car-enthusiast who's been around for some time what their thoughts are about large Yankee cars they'll more often than not wince, then blurt something like "tanks!" Or "trucks!" Or some other ridiculing retort. And they're not far wrong either — and one of the reasons USA carmakers are in the parlous state they're in.

And 'Yank-tank', that mocking description synonymous of cars from the USA, is perhaps best suited to describe the Yankee automobile genre of the not too distant past. That is until they discovered that their view of automobiles never cut the cake in international terms. In fact they failed miserably in the false belief they’re at the centre of the world in almost everything and never had the need to notice much of what was happening on the other side of the big water. How many world championships are there in the USA with no participation from non-Americans?

Then, tentatively at first, with sales sliding, it hit them. Their cars were in fact Yank Tanks when compared with the rest of the globe. And, shucks, perhaps we should get into bed with those guys over the big water. Yes, Ford, GM and then Chrysler begot themselves a variety of attractive suitors.

In fact to highlight their newly discovered world we chose to show the results of these marriages and dalliances by putting the all-new Cadillac STS V8 against a Yankee running mate, the Chrysler 300C, which gained much with Chrysler's dance with Merc and GM's with Saab. And to make things more interesting, we chose the ultra-purist Audi A6 4.2 from the true-blue world of European automobile heritage and high technology to compare.

Firstly, driving the all-new Cadillac STS proved a pleasure. Gone is that big-bitch-bling-assed Caddy styled car driven by the dubious Sheriff Roscoe P Coltrain of 'Dukes of Hazard' TV series — with those oh-so-suitable bullhorns fixed like a phallic symbol to the front of the bonnet.

Though still unmistakeably Yankee in appearance with horizontal spine lines, vertically stacked headlamps and LED tail lights, it does look imposing. That 'doors-into-roof' arrangement, low roof line, angular body shapes and low sculpted bonnet line also differentiate it from anything else. Though the Chrysler does have some similarities here, it's simpler, more brutal treatment makes it stand out. However it's the kitsch, '50s-Yankee-styled grille that mostly seems out of place on the STS, and not nearly as appealing as the brute/handsome grill on the 300C. The Audi A6 stands out for a different reason — it's beautifully classical and simple lines indicate that artful minimalism in automobile design can make a refined statement.

The Cadillac STS's 4.6-litre Northstar engine is another feather in GM's cap. It's a genuine Eurocentric V8 engine that revs willingly and smoothly to its high rev-peaks and sounds so un-Yankee like. Refined in avant-garde terms, it has a classic quadcam 32-valve V8 layout similar in most respects with the A6 4.2 but with a supercharger.

Instead the 300C engine is bequeathed with little in Eurocentric engineering terms. In fact it's a big-muscle 5.7-litre V8 with that Mopar-Hemi-specific magical representation of the Hemi moniker used by Chrysler on its magnificent Muscle Cars of the late '60s and early '70s. Yes, instead of going the route of the Europeans to achieve a cross-flow head with multivalve twin cam layouts for improved performance, the Chrysler boys kept the archaic overhead-valve layout combined with a cross-flow head and hemispherical combustion chambers — with two valves per cylinder. However a quick glance at the specific power outputs of the three rivals well indicates the quad-cam multi-valve route being the better.

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