2013 Cadillac ATS - North American Car of the Year

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by karguy

Yes the ATS is a great car if you like the CTS-esque looks which are already 5 years old...
Until you drive the BMW 328i or 335i.
Caddies 4 and 6 cylinders are way down on power compared to the beemer and the stick in the ATS 4 cylinders shifts very balky.
I hear GM is working on fixing the problem.
Question remains who signed off on it to release it since they must have driven the older generation 328/335 with a crisp shifter for sure...

Already kicked the 3-series's ass in multiple comparison tests. Next?

[FenwickHockey65]

You seriously have no idea what you're talking about.

The ATS either meets or beats the 3-series in 0-60 times. The 3-series does 1 MPG better comparing 2.0Ts, which is a wash and comes down to the driver. V6-wise, ATS is rated at 19/28 compared to 18/28 for the 3-series. Again, a wash based on driver skill.

[FenwickHockey65]

You say you don't care what the magazines say, then direct me to them?

Why would GM use an outdated engine instead of a new one?

And California is a bastion for import lovers. Nobody's going to make any headway there unless their headquarters are in Europe or Asia.

[FenwickHockey65]

Not really. ATS was designed to take on the 3-series in the NA market more than Europe. It would need a wagon variant for Europe and that isn't happening.

[Number 3]

Originally Posted by karguy

They would need a diesel,a wagon,a coupe and convertible if they were serious about getting a bigger piece of the pie in NA or Europe.
What Caddilac should have done is put the LS-3 into the CTS and offer it with a slighty softer suspension for $20K less than the CTS-V.
That would have been a winner !
As it is the CTS-V is too extreme ($$$,mpg,hard suspension) for american tastes.The ATS too small and stiffly suspended for the Caddy customers while others probably don't care because they like their beemers or just the image owning one.
In europe with their even more expensive gas nobody will look at the ATS without a diesel,especially how good todays diesels are.
As it is the ATS sits somewhere between the 335i which is really a great car if you can afford it and the american made Passat TDI which is also a great car especially for the money.Where else can you get a car that is as big as a Chevy Caprice inside,is still fun to drive with a 6 speed and gets 40 mpg for less than $30K...

Ummmmm wait.............what? You think a Passat is the same size as a Caprice? Passat has 4 inches LESS rear seat leg room, and 2 inches less shoulder room front and rear. Not even close.

[MEDISIN]

Originally Posted by karguy

You better read your magazines again;no matter if MT,C&D or R&T the beemer 4 or 6 cylinder beat the ATS in straight line performance and got 10-15% better mpg...

Very marginal difference in acceleration and fuel efficiency with an edge to the BMW but falls short of the ATS in braking, slalom and lateral grip. Essentially the ATS has out-BMW'd BMW.

Originally Posted by karguy

Looks are personal but here in california you see a lot of new 328i/335i but very few ATS...

As the 328i has been produced since 1996, I would certainly hope so. The ATS has been available for 5 months.

Originally Posted by karguy

The ATS-V will have a turbo V6.

Care to share your sources?

Originally Posted by karguy

They should have put the LS-3 V8 without supercharger in the CTS and sold it for $40K.

Given that the V6 starts at $39,990, I don't see how they would sell a V8 and only charge $10 more. Perhaps $50k.

Originally Posted by karguy

The ATS is too small and harsh riding for the Caddy customer base and buyers of european sports sedans prefer the origional.
That is how I see it...

The reason the ATS was named the North American Car of the Year is because of not only what it is, but what it represents. Cadillac is trying to broaden it's customer base with a younger demographic. i.e. Those young professionals who look at cars as a status symbol and gravitate toward the German brands. They didn't build it for the current Cadillac customer base, rather what they want their customer base to include.

There will always be buyers loyal to a given brand - nothing wrong with that, but Cadillac has created the closest thing any American manufacturer has come to a European compact sport sedan. It's not perfect, but a monumental step in the right direction.

[KMPrenger]

Look at what happens to the 2.0 with a tune. Holy Cow.



Edit: Well it seems the photo of the caddy ATS 2.0 was removed, but here is one with the buick 2.0 which is pretty much the same. Hopefully it will stay!

[Number 3]

Originally Posted by KMPrenger

Look at what happens to the 2.0 with a tune. Holy Cow.

The 2.0T in my old Sky with the GMPP Calibration did 290 HP/330 lbft. and that was all under warranty.

But unless GMPP does that for Cadillac I doubt you'll see too many ATS buyers wanting to walk away from their PT warranty.

[Thrillz]

My 2 personal favourite sedans is the SRT8 Charger or the Taurus SHO.

[TheCaptain]

Originally Posted by Thrillz

My 2 personal favourite sedans is the SRT8 Charger or the Taurus SHO.

Tank vs tank eh?

The ATS is a rocket ship. The 3.6V6 AWD just flies! And the torque transfer just plain feels awesome, nonetheless getting the power down now!

[KMPrenger]

Well it seems the dyno image I had originally posted above of the tuned caddy ATS 2.0 was removed, but here is one with the buick 2.0 which is pretty much the same. Hopefully it will stay!