Did GM blow it? ATS VS BMW 3series

[lexlueger]

Looked like they had the upset all but in the bag...

[Apex Motorsports]

So basically the ATS is a better car but the manual transmission sucks. I wouldn't get the manual in a 4 door sedan anyway.

[JusticePete]

I like the CTS-V with a stick. That aside, the first version of the Cadillac ATS being rated as a better car than the all time class leader BMW (with the exception of the shifter) is a huge win. Congrats Cadillac.

Note to the ATS TEAM: Refine the shifter.

Note to ATS Buyers: Get the 6 with the Auto ;-)

[shaffe]

Man that ATS is one sweet looking ride.

Major win by GM with the ATS.

[rez333]

The ATS looks at least 4 inches taller than the 328.

Looks wise I think both look pretty dull, but I think the lights are nicer on the ATS.

[AZCamaroFan]

all i know is the Cadillac looks whole lot better

[Richy_Rich]

This guy is overly excitable; more technical language and data during the talking points please.

Thank you.

[Richy_Rich]

Originally Posted by AZCamaroFan

all i know is the Cadillac looks whole lot better

In the infamous words of Vanilla Ice...
http://youtu.be/EM-8b6LgnMk

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by rez333

The ATS looks at least 4 inches taller than the 328.

Not to my eye. To me, they look like they're within an inch of each other ( ... probably because they are)

You probably got fooled by that one shot they used where the Cadillac is in the foreground with the BMW a couple feet behind. That would make it look bigger, but compare that to the shot shown before you hit play on the video, where the two are angled towards each other on the road

[lexlueger]

I'm not a 3 series fan to say the least but they needed to beat the 3 hands down to take market share.

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by lexlueger

I'm not a 3 series fan to say the least but they needed to beat the 3 hands down to take market share.

Every ATS they sell increases their market share. Previous to the ATS, they didn't really have a competitor to the 3 series. The CTS is allegedly a 'tweener' but it more closely aligns with the 5 series -simply at a lower price point.

Regardless, they did say that it was the better car -it was only the manual transmission that let it down, which isn't really a big deal when you think about it. I'm betting that less than 10% of buyers will opt for the stick shift.

As for beating it hands down, thats impossible. You can't do everything better than the previous segment leader. Beat them here, let them win there, and be content to tie in other places. Trying to win everywhere leads to added cost -which is another metric that customers use to compare cars. The trick is picking your battles to deliver the highest perceived value to the customer.

btw ... for anyone that wants to know more about the development of the ATS, Autoline After Hours had David Leone (Chief Engineer for Cadillac) on a couple weeks ago. Video & podcast here. Among other things, they talked about how they benchmarked the competetion, how they kept it light weight, and the potential of the Alpha platform. David comes on at roughly the 20 minute mark through the rest of the hour long show

[KMPrenger]

I really love the ATS, and while I think the car looks great inside and out and performs great, I think its the potential of what the Alpha platform could do for GM and their next gen cars that has me more excited.

[Jason@JacFab]

Well I'd say that's a good sign for the future Camaro based on that review (minus the transmission of course)... The ATS is a very cool car... Hopefully GM is still refining the transmission issue.

[derklug]

The BMW just looks bland to me, I like the looks of the ATS much better. I would be willing to bet that given a week with the car, the transmission would no longer be such an issue as you adapted.