ATS Nominated for AutoGuide Car of the Year

[nsap]

Beating BMW at its own game gets the ATS a little respect.
www.GMInsideNews.com
December 10, 2012
By: Nick Saporito

Undoubtedly the most important product launch for General Motors this year has been the all-new Cadillac ATS. The compact Caddy is attempting to make its parent brand relevant in arguably one of the most critical segments of the luxury market. Built from the ground up as Cadillac's 3-Series, the ATS attempts to beat BMW at it's own game, and our sister site AutoGuide.com feels like it has by nominating it for the site's first-ever Car of the Year award.

The ATS joins the Scion FR-S and one other yet-to-be-announced new product as the final nominees for the award. And for the record, despite our common ties, GMI has played no role in the selection of the COTY finalists. If GMI were involved, the ATS would probably have a good chance at selection, just saying.

Auto journalists, like all journalists, shouldn’t be biased. And yet before we test a brand new car it’s hard not to have a good idea of what it will be like already.

Driving past versions of the car, or even other cars by the same automaker, gives a point of reference.

For that reason, the Cadillac ATS is an anomaly. There was little to inform our preconceived notions and what there was couldn’t have been more divergent. Take the Cadillac brand. Resurgent, and the only true American luxury automaker, it’s failed to catch on with buyers like, say, Lexus has. A car like the CTS-V proved to be a genuine performance competitor to the BMW M5, but was it Caddy’s one-hit-wonder?

Looking at the big picture of General Motors doesn’t paint a promising picture either. With its own hits, misses and a legacy of compromise that has lived on despite a major Chapter 11 shakeup, the ‘C word’ could kill a car that’s pitted to take on what some would argue is the world’s best: the BMW 3 Series.

And yet, Cadillac hyped the ATS to do just that. Would they be so brazen with nothing to back it up?

Read More...

[steve333]

Good car, would be my first choice if I could afford it.
I would just avoid CUE

[yamahr1]

Has anyone driven the revised manual yet? I haven't seen anything about it being released.

[nsap]

Has anyone driven the revised manual yet? I haven't seen anything about it being released.

Yeah, I own one with it.

[djquick64]

Yeah, I own one with it.

And what do you think of the revised manual? Did you get to drive the manual before they revised it?

[Quixote88]

From the video at the link: The question is: "But, will people buy it? And the answer, unfortunately, is 'no'."

We shall see, rabbit, we shall see... It won't sell in 3 Series numbers right away. It doesn't have 30 years of reputation and snob appeal backing it. But it is a great little car, and Cadillac has made more headway in the performance sedan market than the host may think... 3 months vs. 3 decades on the market is a lot to overcome... But the ATS is going to sell well...

[MyImpalaSS]

From the video at the link: The question is: "But, will people buy it? And the answer, unfortunately, is 'no'."

We shall see, rabbit, we shall see... It won't sell in 3 Series numbers right away. It doesn't have 30 years of reputation and snob appeal backing it. But it is a great little car, and Cadillac has made more headway in the performance sedan market than the host may think... 3 months vs. 3 decades on the market is a lot to overcome... But the ATS is going to sell well...

You gotta start somewhere.

[CaddyLac10]

One thing people need to remember is that the ATS doesn't have to outsell the 3 to be called a better car. The 3 obviously has a head start on the ATS, a few decades to be exact, but the ATS’s accolades are a great example of what is needed most to build a great product - commitment and purpose. Sales volume will improve over time and the ATS may even catch or beat the 3 globally one day but volume doesn’t diminish the ATS’s position as a better car.

I’ve mentioned in previous posts that the overall sentiment of the media would slowly change over time when they basically got some balls to admit that the ATS was better. The same thing happened with the 2G CTS-V after it spanked the E60 M5. It just took some time for people to get acquainted with the fact the V was a better performance vehicle than the E60 M5 and that the ATS is a better drivers car than the vaunted 3. BMW has always been the benchmark in luxury for things like performance and steering feel but Cadillac is taking that title now and it certainly didn’t take them decades to do it.

[91Saturn]

From the video at the link: The question is: "But, will people buy it? And the answer, unfortunately, is 'no'."

We shall see, rabbit, we shall see... It won't sell in 3 Series numbers right away. It doesn't have 30 years of reputation and snob appeal backing it. But it is a great little car, and Cadillac has made more headway in the performance sedan market than the host may think... 3 months vs. 3 decades on the market is a lot to overcome... But the ATS is going to sell well...

I don't know. It's certainly not off to gangbusters start in that direction.

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, ground-zero of the 3-series market. And I've already seen dozens, maybe 100s, of the 2013 3-series on the road. I have yet to see a single ATS on the road. And believe me, I see a lot of rare, high-end cars on the road... no less than 3 Tesla Model S sedans in the last few weeks.

I know that many here disagree with me on this, but I believe that GM made a mistake on the ATS pricing and specs. When you're the underdog new kid on the block, you've got to hit everyone on the head with a 2 by 4 to get some attention. If the base model had the 2.0 turbo and been priced about $3K less, it would have knocked the whole segment on its collective @$$. I know some here say, "No, no, no you lose snob appeal by being the 'bargain' in the segment." Wrong, I say, there's nothing wrong with being the 'bargain' when you're totally new. That's how you get your foot in the door. It's the approach that worked for Lexus back in the early '90s. And it worked for the first version of the CTS.

[Quixote88]

I don't know. It's certainly not off to gangbusters start in that direction.

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, ground-zero of the 3-series market. And I've already seen dozens, maybe 100s, of the 2013 3-series on the road. I have yet to see a single ATS on the road. And believe me, I see a lot of rare, high-end cars on the road... no less than 3 Tesla Model S sedans in the last few weeks.

I know that many here disagree with me on this, but I believe that GM made a mistake on the ATS pricing and specs. When you're the underdog new kid on the block, you've got to hit everyone on the head with a 2 by 4 to get some attention. If the base model had the 2.0 turbo and been priced about $3K less, it would have knocked the whole segment on its collective @$$. I know some here say, "No, no, no you lose snob appeal by being the 'bargain' in the segment." Wrong, I say, there's nothing wrong with being the 'bargain' when you're totally new. That's how you get your foot in the door. It's the approach that worked for Lexus back in the early '90s. And it worked for the first version of the CTS.

Remember, the ATS doesn't have to sell the same volume as the 3 Series for it to be considered "selling well." The ATS is not now, and probably won't ever, sell in the same volume as the 3. Cadillac doesn't expect it to, nor does it need it to do so. Furthermore, you are also in the area of the country that would be the last to "switch" to Cadillac. Don't use that as a barometer. The Bay Area is most certainly one of the most affluent areas of the country. But it's also one in which the snob factor is much higher than in other affluent areas of the country. No domestic, other than Tesla, will ever truly be accepted there as the "it" car.

Fortunately for Cadillac, other areas of the country are more accepting of them. It's in these areas that Cadillac has to make inroads more rapidly...

If by the end of its first year on the market the ATS is selling at about 33-40% of the 3 Series, that should be considered selling very well. Afterall, as I said in my first post in this thread, as of right now 3 months vs. 3 decades on the market is a bit much for any car to overcome. Especially when the top dog had truly earned its place by building a formidable machine all along.

As far as pricing the ATS cheaper, Cadillac had already taken this route to introduce their first true sport sedan, the CTS (as you stated). They don't need to do that again. The market is now well aware that Cadillac sells sport sedans. However, one thing that may hurt sales is the dealers themselves. Not that the dealers are bad. But they may not know the best way to order vehicles for their lots. Buyers wants/needs in the ATS/3 Series market may greatly differ from other segments for which Caddy dealers are used to ordering. Too many ATS models may be ordered as "high end" instead of low to mid range models, for example.

The ATS is quickly being recognized for being "the real deal." I don't remember a single time over the past two decades when multiple auto reviewing outlets had stated that any car in its class was a better driver than the BMW 3 Series. That's happening time and again for the ATS. Barring an unseen, disastrous flaw in the car's manufacturing, the ATS should soon start to capitalize on its new found reputation...

But we shall see...

[SX3]

Don't tell Car and Driver. They already gave it to the 3 Series again. Such a shocking outcome.

[63GrandSport001]

Don't tell Car and Driver. They already gave it to the 3 Series again. Such a shocking outcome.

Motor Trend took a pretty big risk in picking the ATS over both the Mercedes C350 and BMW 335i. I am pretty sure that you have some people who are canceling their prescription to Motor Trend based on that choice.

[spyderman61]

And it probably killed some of their employees that they did, because they always have a backhanded comment for the domestics. The problem with cue is the driver can not play with it while driving and the critics are annoyed by this. Your main adjustment should be made before you start driving, pay attention and drive.

[sfdenny]

Good car, would be my first choice if I could afford it.
I would just avoid CUE

I took delivery of an ATS yesterday. I wanted CUE, esp for the back-up camera and cd player (it's a 2.5 with CUE and heated seats.) Voice recognition works well, but I have to get into the manual to figure out all the possibilities. Very nice so far :-)

Look for me in the December sales figures!

[sfdenny]

I don't know. It's certainly not off to gangbusters start in that direction.

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, ground-zero of the 3-series market. And I've already seen dozens, maybe 100s, of the 2013 3-series on the road. I have yet to see a single ATS on the road. And believe me, I see a lot of rare, high-end cars on the road... no less than 3 Tesla Model S sedans in the last few weeks.

I know that many here disagree with me on this, but I believe that GM made a mistake on the ATS pricing and specs. When you're the underdog new kid on the block, you've got to hit everyone on the head with a 2 by 4 to get some attention. If the base model had the 2.0 turbo and been priced about $3K less, it would have knocked the whole segment on its collective @$$. I know some here say, "No, no, no you lose snob appeal by being the 'bargain' in the segment." Wrong, I say, there's nothing wrong with being the 'bargain' when you're totally new. That's how you get your foot in the door. It's the approach that worked for Lexus back in the early '90s. And it worked for the first version of the CTS.

I'm in the East Bay, so watch out for my ATS. New domestics are always slow to take around here, unlike BMWs, VWs, Toyotas, etc. They multiply like rabbits. But there is at least one ATS now on the eastern shore of the San Francisco Bay...