Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not convinced Google really solved spam, they're just not afraid to turn the sensitivity on the filter way up even if that means a chunk of legitimate mail gets marked as spam. Most smaller admins seem concerned about correctness and so they don't do this. I think this really sums up Google's M.O. in general.
I was there when they launched Gmail. I had an email account at almost every other big provider. Most of them were full of spam. Gmail was clean and the amount of legitimate emails misclassified was insignificant. Everyone else had to up their game due to Gmail. On all fronts.
Comparing a new gmail account to an older account that hat many more chances to end up on spam lists is not really fair though.