Will it prove to be a fad?? I don't think so..people have been shooting the 6.5 caliber in other parts for the world for a very long time..it has finally really taken hold here in the US in the past 10-15 years and now with the 6.5 CR being chambered by so many different rifle manufacturers, it will probably stick for the foreseeable future..IMHO
Ripp
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I agree. But I will say I don't think it will be "ONLY a fad." Let me explain my statement:

All success stories of cartridges are fads ----at first! The ones that last are the ones that have merit enough to stand on that merit, and not just the writings of someone paid to sell products.

The 30-30 and the 30-06 were both fads ----- until the were standards. So were all the 300 magnums.
In fact, so was the 375H&H. That's how they all were in their first 10-15 years of use.

That is not to say that "standards" are always built on superior performance, or that shells with great performance are the ones that catch on and become "standards."

There are exceptions on both sides.

But I think it's safe to say that no cartridge will last long that has a low degree of merit.

A shell that preforms as well (or close to) a world standard, (in this case the 6.5 Swede) which fits a new set of gun standards (in this case a rifle with a Military length detachable mag and still can hold very long bullets) is how I see the 6.5 CM. In other words, barrel for barrel, pressure for pressure, the CM is very close to the 6.5X55, BUT it fits into a magazine that the 6.5X55 won't fit into. So that will open up a place in the market and that's what will make it last.

Like the 6.5 Grendel and the 6.8 SPC. No new ballistics to either. Both give us ballistics we have had from other shells for 80-100 years and neither will give the top ballistics of those 80 year old shells.
But those other shells would not go into an AR15, or for that matter, a bolt gun that can weight less then 6 pounds with a scope and strap and fully loaded. It's not just the ballistics that make them desirable, but the synthesis of the shell and the gun it's in.

Today the merits of a shell are seldom truly some new set of ballistics. It's old news. What makes them new and excellent is the guns that they give those old ballistics from.

I have done a lot of 6.5X55s with 1-8 twist barrels. Shooting long, slick .264" bullets is very old news to me. Been doing that for 40 years. Some newer bullets of today did not exist then, but the guns were easily within reach of any who wanted such a gun.
Having one that can fit with a detachable 20 round mag however is something I have not done, and from an economic standpoint, I could not do.

The 264 Winchester with a 1-8 twist barrel is VERY old news! I did a few of them way back in the 70s. But speed by itself is not what is making the 6.5CM popular.

It's merit.
The bullets used in the CM do not have to be pushed as fast as the Mag pushes them.
The barrel life is a LOT better,
recoil is a LOT less,
weight of the gun can be a LOT less(If you'd like. Some guns in the 6.5CM weight as much or more than the magnums did, but now the customer gets to choose)

The the 6.5cm IS a fad. SO WHAT?
I think it will be a fad until it isn't. When it isn't it will become a standard. That's really the pattern of all great shells. All great ones develop that way.