Cadillac to debut ATS at Detoit Auto Show

During the Detroit auto show press days in January 9-10, Cadillac plans to finally debut one of the most anticipated cars from the brand, if not all of GM, the 2013 ATS sports sedan. Aimed at the BMW 3-series, among others, the ATS will be the smallest Cadillac in some time. The development of which has seen it's share of controversy with rumors of the car being hundreds of pounds more than its competition and senior management of GM damning the car with faint praise calling the car competitive but not class leading. These doubts and rumors have no doubt been the reason Cadillac has recently run web videos promoting the development process that is at least hinting at a well sorted sport sedan. We are eagerly waiting to get some seat time next summer to see how well the ATS stacks up. Press release below. DETROIT – The all-new 2013 Cadillac ATS compact luxury rear wheel drive sedan will be among four General Motors’ concept or production vehicles making world premieres at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in January. “ATS is a crucial part of Cadillac's expansion,” GM Senior Vice President of Global Product Development Mary Barra told the Automotive Press Association on Friday. “ATS enters the biggest market segment in the global luxury car industry, both in terms of volume and importance.  “It’s a segment dominated by German cars, including the BMW 3-series, Mercedes C-Class and Audi A4, so we’ve developed a compelling and convincing new challenger,” she said. ATS marks the debut of a new rear-wheel-drive-based architecture designed for agile, quick-and-fun driving dynamics and advanced technology. The ATS goes into production next summer at the Lansing, Mich., Grand River Assembly plant.  Barra, who was named to her position about a year ago, oversees a $15 billion operation currently designing and engineering 113 major product programs globally “from concept to production… mini-cars to full size body-on-frame trucks…and everything in between,” she said. Barra said she has spent much of her time seeking and executing efficiencies in the way GM develops products.  Core architectures – the basic building blocks of new vehicles – accounted for 30 percent of volume when she took over. Today, the same architectures cover 48 percent of volume. “We’re targeting 60 percent by 2014… and 90-plus percent by 2018,” she said. “It’s a similar story with our engine platforms. As recently as 2009, we built 20 different engine platforms around the world. Over the next several years, our goal is to reduce that to 10.”