Re: 2012 Cadillac ATS Still in the Works

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Edmund’s InsideLine has an interesting news mention here: 2012 Cadillac ATS Still in the Works.  They show a picture of the BLS, but at least they put in a Cadillac pic.

The Cadillac ATS of course is the ‘Smaller-than-a-CTS’ BMW 3-Series Killer we are waiting for.  Hearing that it might come along as a 2012 model is startling, and seems unlikely, but would be exciting if it does.  A 2012 model of course would arrive in 2011.  Surely we would have a Concept car or rolling examples now if the ATS were really coming out next year.

Although the title of the Article mentions 2012 ATS, the text actually says “debut” in 2012, which might mean a 2013 model, or might mean a 2014 model (the XTS ‘debuted’ this year but is at least 2 years out).

No news on what chassis the ATS will arrive on.  My favorite is still the Alpha, which was to be an extended Kappa platform, or a mix of Kappa and Sigma.

Also possible is that the ATS will arrive as an AWD vehicle on the shortest Epsilon II platform.

ATS fast facts:

  • Alpha / ATS internally informally referred to as the “BMW fighter” [good]
  • small, rear-wheel drive luxury car for the Cadillac division [confirmed, good]
  • Compete head-on with the German carmaker’s 3-series sedan [yes]
  • “This car has to speak for itself,” Reuss said in a recent interview. “Before, it was all about playing defense instead of offense.” [good]
  • Now, the engineering and purchasing executives are meeting together with important suppliers to stress that GM will pay top dollar if it gets the most advanced technology before other automakers. [good; not sure what they have in mind for the ATS here, but interesting]

In terms of the debate between a folding soft-top or a folding hardtop (as found on the XLR), I would need to hear more about how much the folding hardtop compromises in terms of lost trunk space.   I assume the Cadillac Engineers are comparing how quiet they can make the soft top (a hard top would give more isolation) versus how much more compact the soft top is than the hard top.  The folding hard tops add complication, but they are becoming more and more standard on convertibles.  Convertible sales across the market as a whole are down somewhat, but I would like to see the ATS convertible arrive on schedule.

Great news that Cadillac is still planning Sedan, Coupe, and Convertible variants.  This car need to sell 100K + cars per year in order to compete with 3-Series Sales.

Read more about the Cadillac ATS in our ATS Category.

Caddyinfo Twitter Updates for 2010-01-27

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Chevrolet Malibu Driving Impressions

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Just a quick note on the Chevrolet Malibu, a National Rental Car example I am driving this week.  In the Chevrolet range the Malibu slots between the Impala and the upcoming Cruze, or the current Cobalt.

The current Malibu is on the GM Epsilon midsize FWD platform.   This is a good thing, because it is a very good platform.  GM has continued development of the Epsilon as the Epsilon II.  The upcoming Cadillac XTS is likely to be on the Epsilon II platform.  Epsilon II is adapted for FWD or AWD.

Rear:

This Malibu is a flex fuel vehicle, which means that it can run on E85 Ethanol Fuel.  E85 is 85% renewable Ethanol, and only 15% oil based Gasoline.  I think we could get people much more interested in E85 cars if they were rated by only the gasoline portion.  The Malibu using E85 for 100 gallons for say 3000 miles would only use 15 gallons of ‘gas’, for an effective 200 mpg of actual fossil fuel used.

Engine:

This Malibu has the LZ4 3.5L OHV V6.  Retail Malibus come with either the Ecotec 4 cylinder or the 3.6L DOHC V6.    I really have enjoyed the similar 3.6L LY7 V6 in my CTS, and I am a big fan of the Ecotec 4-cylinder series.  No bad choices here.

The 3.5L V6 has aluminum heads, an iron block, overhead valves, and limited variable valve timing. The 3.5L V6 was offered as an upgrade for special order fleet vehicles, (like National) to replace the Ecotec 4 cylinder engine, and generally was not available for retail customers.  This is the current example of the OHV V6 series that have largely been replaced with the 3.6L DOHC engines.  In the Malibu it makes a respectable 217hp and 220 lb-ft of torque.

Interior:


Overall the interior is well laid out and functional. I like the contrasting colors quite well.  The Malibu seems like a very good value.

Driving Impressions: The Malibu has very good low end torque, as you would expect from the OHV LZ4 3.5L  V6.  It is very maneuverable and responds well as I found since it seems everywhere I need to go on this trip requires a U-turn or two.  The controls are well laid out.  It is not a Cadillac, but I think this would be a good choice for most families for a family car.