I don't buy into everything you say about the guns. My carry is a Taurus PT 145. It is small, fairly light, and carries 10 .45 hardballs in the magazine.
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=...ail&FORM=VIRE1
http://www.taurususa.com/product-det...ategory=Pistol
As for the round; .45 beats 9 mm in almost everything. The only things that the 9 mm has is capacity and penetration. Most self defense involves an unarmored target at close range. I'll take the .45 ACP everytime over the 9 mm.
As for some other claims; I read the report back in the 1980s when they wanted to adopt a new sidearm. The Glock did not exist yet but the entrants were Smith and Wesson, Colt, Beretta, and other 9 mm semi-automatic pistols. Some Colt 1911A1s were used as controls. When it came to jamming the Colts beat everything. The pistols were put in a mud tank over night and then rinsed out with a garden hose. No cleaning, no oiling. 1911A1 was the winner. Accuracy: The 1911A1s were 20 year old guns that were in service but they still did respectfully against their newer cousins. Reliability: All of the shots (and misfires) were recorded in the survey, winner 1911A1! The catch was that the contract required a 9 mm, double action, semi-automatic, with at least 10 round capacity. The competition was designed for the Beretta to win as a nod to our NATO allies.
Go check out what it took to come up with the greatest battle rifle ever made; the M-1 Garand. It was not the starter and neither was the 30-06.