Most weird thing I saw...

Today is the third time I saw this seemingly strange phenomena, an old model 1998-2002 Corolla giving much more powerful cars a run on the highway! A few weeks ago I saw a guy in a E46 M3 trying to pass a Corolla. Both cars were probably going at about 70mph but it was not a walk in the park for the M3. They were going side by side much longer than I expected and eventually the M3 seemed to have had a surge in power and passed the Corolla. Judging from what I saw, the M3 probably had a SMG transmission. I was so surprised but figured that maybe the guy in the M3 didn’t know how to drive.
Then again last week I saw basically the same thing happen between a G37 and a Corolla. And today I was so shocked to see another Corolla giving a Merc C63 a good run for a while. These are all difference Corollas (different colors) and they look pretty beaten up so I don’t think they are souped out ricers. I actually went and did some research and the result made me more puzzled. An 8th generation Corolla has a 1.8L VVTI engine with 125bhp and weighs 2,414lbs giving it a power to weight ratio of 19.3. An E46M3 has a power to weight ratio of about 10 and a C63 8.5 so there is no way in theory the Corolla can even come close to these cars. The only explanation is that automatic transmission shift lag in these cars is causing them to power up much slower from cruising speed. I have also experienced this in my F. The car acts like I don't want to accelerate when cruising at 8th gear at highway speeds. I see other cars pulling away unless I step on the gas. I am sure starting from dead stop would be a different story. Just seems so perplexing!