Autoweek: GM planning hybrid ATS and CTS
February 8, 2010 - 2:58 pm
2010 SRX turbo - Our test car
February 8, 2010 - 12:00 pmPart 1 – Overview
Part 2 – Our test car
Part 3 – Exterior and Design
Part 4 – Interior and Electronics
Part 5 – Ride and Performance
Image galleries – SRX Review Pics | SRX Pics from Cadillac
Cadillac certainly didn’t pull any punches with the car they provided for us to test, a 2.8l turbo AWD with the Premium package.
While it is technically possible to get into an SRX for a touch over $33k – if you are willing to accept front-drive, 3.0l DI engine, no wood trim, standard nav w/ bluetooth, power liftgate, etc. many of which are not even available a la carte on the base trim – then that is an alternative for you..if you can find one. For folks walking into a showroom after seeing the starting price – it could be a bit of a shock to the system.
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2010 SRX turbo - Overview
February 8, 2010 - 10:22 amPart 1 – Overview
Part 2 – Our test car
Part 3 – Exterior and Design
Part 4 – Interior and Electronics
Part 5 – Ride and Performance
Image galleries – SRX Review Pics | SRX Pics from Cadillac
What we are looking at here is the automotive equivalent of a Hollywood franchise ‘reboot’ – where the name and basic story stay the same, but all the actors, director, etc. are replaced to take things in a different direction.. In terms of risk, the shift Cadillac took with the SRX for its second generation would be like the Harry Potter movies dropping Daniel Radcliffe for one of the Jonas brothers. Sure it might look to the execs like you would get benefits such as pulling in a different demographic – but the previous fans might just come after you with torches and pitchforks for screwing with ‘their baby’.
So, what has Cadillac done, why did they do it, and will they need to raise the drawbridges to keep out the angry hordes?
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Motortrend.com video of the XTS Platinum Concept
February 5, 2010 - 10:10 pmAnalyst - Alpha platform to underpin ATS, next CTS, and…Camaro
February 4, 2010 - 5:20 pmJames Ricci, director of Grant Thornton LLP, an automotive industry analysis firm, in a presentation to the Automotive Press Association, has made the following claims about GM’s rear drive platform strategy…
The Alpha chassis, that was originally envisioned to be the basis of a Holden, Pontiac, and small Cadillac (ATS to you and me), has been either re-thought by GM or we had it wrong all along.
According to our analyst friend, GM has conceived of the Alpha platform as a very flexible architecture that will allow Cadillac to not only build the new ATS (in sedan, coupe, wagon, and convertible forms) but also the next CTS which will be larger than the current car to better go head-to-head with the 5-series/E-class/A6. Additionally, the next Chevy Camaro will move off of the Zeta chassis (which was a bit big for a pony-car in the first place, making the Camaro at least 300 lbs heavier than the Mustang) and onto Alpha as well.
This would mean the end of Sigma as well (currently under the, not long for this world, STS/SLS and the current CTS line).
This suggests, if true, that Alpha is much more sophisticated an architecture than originally thought and a good successor to Sigma. This certainly suggests that Cadillac is investing heavily in their future and will continue to be a force in the luxury class.
Troubling, though, is that the predicted dates for the CTS and ATS are, at least in this report, calendar years 2013 and 2014, respectively…significantly later than the previous predictions of an ATS debut in 2011 as a 2012 model.
We’ll be keeping our fingers crossed for the earlier dates.
Source: MotorTrend.com
