Archive for the 'ATS' category
Cadillac to unveil ATS in Super Bowl ad
January 30, 2012 - 11:42 pmGMI News gets a full demo of CUE
January 13, 2012 - 9:57 amATS Powertrains
January 9, 2012 - 10:00 am
One of the biggest stories of the ATS are its 3 powertrains. In addition to Cadillac’s trademark 3.6l V-6, the ATS also sees the introduction of a pair of 4-cylinder powertrains to a brand that is known more for its V-8s than for products with half that number of cylinders.
However, in the modern luxury market, a good 4-cylinder is becoming much more common. Audi’s A4 is 4-cylinder exclusive and BMW’s 3-Series – often synonymous for its straight-6 engines, is now offering a 4-cylinder as its entry engine.
These are not penalty-box engines Cadillac is putting into its ATS. The 2.5 is brand new, the 2.0 is claimed to be all-new as well – though a 2.0 turbo, DI 4 has been seen in a few products from GM over the past few years…though not with every feature of the ATS’ engine. The 3.6 is the LFX V-6 which is heavily revised for all Cadillac products starting in the 2012 model year. All engines, 4-cylinders included, are packing the latest direct injection technology and the mid-level 4 is also combining the DI technology with turbocharging to offer V-6 levels of power with even more accessible torque than any V-6 currently offered by Cadillac.
It may turn out that the V-6 is wholly redundant in the face of the 2.0 and is offered merely to appease buyers that just can not own a 4-cylinder Cadillac. Their loss. The V-6 is actually a North American exclusive with export markets offering the 4’s only.
Cadillac has also been stating that a diesel engine will be offered, though for which markets exactly remains to be seen (it would be great to see North American buyers offered this high-efficiency engine option – especially in light of it being offered in the competition here as well.
All three (gas) engines are paired with 6-speed transmissions. The 2.5 and V-6 are exclusively mated with the automatic, 2.0 turbo buyers will also have the option of a 6-speed manual made by the same folks who build the transmission for Cadillac’s CTS-V line. This will be the only option for buyers looking for a true sports sedan driving experience (‘tap shift’ manu-matic function will be available to the drivers of automatics with all three engines).
More details about the engines to be offered in the press release below:
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ATS Weight Savings - The Story of an Unexpected Development
January 9, 2012 - 7:00 am
As much as the ATS was anticipated for years now, we have been filling the vacuum with rumors and speculation.
During this time, a couple key ‘facts’ have filled the void – 1. CEO of GM saying that the ATS would be ‘competitive’ – which was taken as code for ‘we aren’t quite happy with the car and don’t expect it to really be a 3-series competitor’ and 2. The ATS is way overweight and the engineers are scrambling to cut some of the pork to get the mass down to a less embarrassing level.
In fact, we were hearing all sorts of supporting rumors that the ATS program was a complete disaster with Cadillac making last minute demands of the Alpha development team that it needed to be able to house a 6 (the story was that Alpha was originally 4-cylinder only). Then after that shakeup and its related bloat of the chassis…Cadillac required it be able to accommodate AWD and that forced a change of front suspension geometry – more mass yet again and a compromise to handling and steering feel.
It remains to be seen how the ATS will drive, but it appears that the mass problems might have been overblown.
In the ATS, if the reports from Cadillac are to be believed, mass was always the enemy and the ultimate result is a highly engineered car that is ultimately among if not the lowest weight car in its class (final numbers will come closer to production, but currently it is, at worst, a mere 38 lbs more than the BMW 3-series and actually lighter than all other competitors).
Personally, it is uncommon to hear of an engineering team fighting for grams of weight and looking closely at each and every part of the car. The only manufacturer I have seen that had that level of obsession was Mazda and it was when building cars like the Miata and the RX sports cars – in their case they had a similar story to tell about how they shaved grams from parts like a rear-view mirror. The ultimate result of such obsession is that the grams start to add up to real savings measured in many pounds.
These are changes and savings that could still be made in the run-up to production. Likely this is why we don’t know for sure what the final curb weight of the ATS will be (and why I wouldn’t be surprised if the ATS beats the 3-series curb weight to become the lightest car in its class before the ATS goes on sale in the summer).
If this ‘sure thing’ rumor has been this wrong – I can’t wait to get some seat time to see exactly how wrong the ‘steering and front suspension geometry have been compromised’ rumor-mongers have been as well.
I’m more excited than ever about the prospects of the ATS as a potential 3-series beater.
See the press release about the mass reduction focus below:
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