I'm in the JFK airport cellphone lot waiting for a friend and here goes a Caddie ATS parked right next to me. I know you can not argue on people's taste but I have to say it, I'm sorry but this car is just plain ugly.
I hear all the comparisons with the F30 on how it drives and handles the roads, but its just so frea...g ugly.
The problem with this whole thread is that neither a 3 series nor an ATS should be evaluated on a sports basis. If you want a true sports sedan, you are buying an M3 sedan or an AMG. The 3 series buyer wants a nice car in that size range that has excellent utility and handles well with all the smart bells and whistles. I don't know many 3 series buyers that are buying because of the 0-60 times or the skid-pad number.
With you living in San Francisco, I'm sure you can appreciate a car that can handle the hills and turns with ease, and have the power on demand. In my area of PA, we have mostly hills and narrow winding roads that one really needs a car that has the power and great handling abilities. That's what always attracted me to buying BMWs because they did handle so well. It had nothing to do with track times.
I got my wife an F30 328i because the overall car for the money was impressive. A 4 cyl with 240 hp and great gas mileage. Nicely appointed interior and electronics. Nice looking, handles well. Bavarian quality manufacturing and technology - Eco Pro, 8 speed transmission, BMW Apps. The previous car was an E92 M3 vert that I leased traded because (1) it was sucking 7 mpg going over Nob Hill on her 1 mile commute to work and (2) I was impressed with the value/innovation of the F30 for approx. $500 per month. I skipped the 6 cyl because if I wanted acceleration I would have kept the E92 M3...
CTS sales nosediving thanks to new ATS, so GM will cut output
Cadillac designed the compact ATS to compete with the BMW 3 Series, but GM says the new Caddy is also cutting into CTS sales. Edmunds.com backs that up with data showing potential buyers are cross-shopping the ATS with the CTS as well as the BMW.
Automotive News spoke to the head of Cadillac sales, Chase Hawkins, who admits The General expected the ATS to cannibalize sales of the CTS. But Hawkins says a plan is in place to deal with the drop in CTS sales: make fewer of them.
"We've planned for ATS to take some CTS customers out of the market who we otherwise would have seen," Hawkins tells AN. "We definitely are going to be producing fewer CTSes next year to create some of that space for ATS."
The next-generation CTS is expected to be larger and costlier, which should better separate the two stablemates in the marketplace. As the two models find their own niches, AN speculates a few more import buyers to come back to the iconic American brand.
Given that 70% ATS buyers are first time Caddy drivers, I don't think it has caused the CTS sales to nosedive. I think it has a lot to do with people waiting for the new gen CTS to be available next year.
Are you kidding?! The only people who even know there is a new CTS a year away are CTS enthusiasts who hang out on CTS forums, just like the only people who knew a new 3er was coming were the people here. That is an infinitesimally small segment of the market. Even now people show up on Bimmerfest every day who don't realize the F30 is brand new or that the E92/93 are the out going models.
The CTS is due for a redesign and I'm sure it's coming. I saw the CTS next to the ATS at the car show and it really looks dated as the ATS and XTS are sleeker and have rounded edges. The chiseled look is no longer interesting.
There is a great deal of complaint from the existing CTS owners about the softened look of the ATS, and the future CTS. According to many of them, the softened look is GM selling them out to the Chinese market
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