Being named car of the year and being car of the year are two different things. If it won’t sell, can’t compete, all the hype is just that, Hype.
GM just can’t make it up to the level of the Germans
The German brands have yet to get to the general level of maintenance friendliness of the American brands (GM/Chrysler/pre-Mulally Ford). To some extent, even the Japanese brands do this with their tight engine compartments.
Is it too much to ask to have a roomy engine compartment, major parts without “sealed lifetime lubricant”, and higher displacement per dollar? Not saying that Detroit doesn’t do those individually, but Cadillac’s German competitors (such as BMW and Audi) are known for “interesting” engineering on the inside.
At the very least, going with Cadillac means offending environuts the world over - a good thing.