regfootball

"The naturally aspirated four-cylinder idles smoothly enough, though that's thanks largely to some cleverness in the engine mounts." no... it totally has nothing to do the fact that it is a brand new engine that was designed with NHV control in mind... "We fully expected the turbo four-cylinder to be the sweet spot in the ATS line, and while it feels properly quick, the engine still lacks the buttery refinement of offerings from Audi" ... uh... has the dude actually driven a 2.0T Audi? Fun engines, sure, but I don't dare call them "buttery" "On the street, Sport Mode simply devolves into a button to make the transmission worse. The overly sensitive programming will kick down a gear and hold it on mild freeway onramps, sticking the transmission in third or fourth gear and keeping it there long enough for us to wonder if we've broken something. In the end, it does exactly what shift logic shouldn't do: make the driver aware of the transmission." .... you mean that when you drive normally in sport mode, you don't like the way the car is performing? My CTS had this sport mode... it was meant solely for hard driving situations. Put it in sport mode and drive it like you stole it, otherwise, let the transmission stay in normal mode. you can tell that Autoblog, Edmunds, and sometimes Automobile are trying so hard to be critical, they just go way so far with it. Shock journalism. Really it's just to stoke the fanboi's who spend all day commenting on their sites....tools and douchebags who portend to say things like 'i was gonna buy this or the A4 2.0 and the stitching on the ATS dash sucks so much I am going to buy the Audi'.... chances are that half the douchebags there don't have a driver's license, or a job, or both, and may have never purchased a car in their lives. I am one who really doesn't mind the 2.5 base engine. First off, the power output is pretty close to what used to be the base in the 3 series. Second, for 3300-3400 pounds, it's adequate. 0-60 in 7.5 is as fast as a 3800 powered car, maybe quicker. Was that ever slow? Third, saving the turbo hardware and the leather means being able to have the low price leader which lets face it is important for GM. Cheap lease bait, then switch. Rental cars....Hertz don't want turbos. Neither do old people, some folks are anti turbo. The 4 is light and keeps the car 50/50. I think leaving out the folding seat is a problem. I honestly would be fine with a 2.5 for daily transport but would be most interested in the turbo for the sportiness. Putting the 2.5 in a more expensive car like the ATS helps them write off the cost of it more, which keeps the cost of it down on cars like the Malibu. I've subscribed to car magazines since like 88....been reading C/D, R/T, pop sci/mech and MT for well over 30 years. I have found Road and Track to be the most neutral and consistent over that time. Car and Driver is pretty good for the most part but has had fits of self indulgence and hyperbole. Motor Trend kind of morphs every few years from daily driver to performance to luxury or consumer emphasis. Road and Track's reviews are the ones that I tend to think show the best record over time.

like the style of the writeups. Sounds like a good car, the Sonatas are nice. I think the big question is still long term durability on the Hyundai Kia recent products...

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/07/23/2013-cadillac-ats-first-drive-review-video/ Autoblog was jerks.....

Quest is supposed to have a nice interior but lacks cargo space due to the seats. Odyssey, what is nice, not so much glass. Interior doesn't feel quite so much like a bus then.

http://www.insidelin...-full-test.html http://www.motortren...ats_first_test/ http://www.caranddri...st-drive-review http://www.roadandtrack.com/tests/drives/2013-cadillac-ats

Catera>CTS1>CTS2>ATS, 4 generations now of a Caddy that is not a floater, it's about what, 15 years now? Cadillac has had a bunch of cars now that have not been bad drivers, closer to 20 years if you include the 92 STS. The ATS will represent a product that is indeed competitive with the douchebag mobiles from a driving standpoint without apology. The marketing and image part, Cadillac is really trying not to tap into the douchebag bunch. But still they want luxo shoppers as well as their own Cadillac and GM fans. ATS seems to walk that line nicely so far. The XTS is not such a car. Leasing is important for numbers and many lux buyers prefer to lease. The real benefit of leasing is the steady flow of people trading in and re-buying. The dealer can then make dough on the used and a new one instead of people hanging on to the car forever. Lightly used cars are a great entry point into the brand for a lot of younger or first time buyers. Cadillac needs to do that to be financially happy like the BMW's.

going to fleet farm, MA PICK UP A BOTTLE OF UREA! i actually hope Cadillac doesn't do diesel. they need to join the ranks of the euro turbo crowd first....i.e. Audi has a legacy of well over a decade now of great mainstream turbo engines.

i say this after having 5 fords and over 300k miles now, all pretty much trouble free..... I do think there is a bit more zest in the GM stuff. More with a little fun and emotion. that said, the new Fusion and obviously the focus are pretty cool. but there is a stale property that is present in most fords. And Ford has pretty much abandoned the past. Not really a bad thing. But GM cars, you can photo a 13 Malibu and something from just about any GM generation and that flavor still is there. At least more so. In fact, what is appealing to me about the 13 Malibu...although I liked the 08-12 exterior a lot, the 13 Malibu would look just fine in the company of cars like say, the early 2000 Bonnevilles and so on. that's not really a knock as much as it is a complement that they could bring a GM look forward many years later.

believe or not, the Impala was in many chevy stores selling more Impalas at retail than Malibus. The older customers liked the extra headroom and cabin space and more windows that the Malibu did not have. If anything, as much as the Impala has been fleet, the Malibu was too. Current Fusion has been propped up since the last redo with cheap leases and tons of incentives. It became the defacto cheap large car for Ford and much of the domestic market. Ford whored them out. Ford is out for profit now on the new model. And rightfully so. Taurus sales may even go up a little in the meantime. Most new Impalas should come in close to the basic LaCrosse in price. GM has priced the Malibu so in some trims with deals it will be closer to 20k than 25k. And it will be the ad leader for leases. Impalas have never leased well as late, so if anything the Malibu should do the bulk of the lease volume for Chevy. What really is crazy is that Chrysler moves so many of the Avenger and 200's now. Hopefully the Malibu can get back some of those customers. Chevy has it rolling now so when the SS sedan comes out, it's just a low volume car, a halo car, just to get PR and satisfy the whipping $h!ties crowd. Which is a tiny subset of the car public. It will cap Chevy's line perfectly.

Chevy's math = Impala volume + Malibu volume > Fusion + Taurus volume. Malibu might only move 150,000 units, but the Impala may move just as many. Fusion could move 250k units now with the incentivized leases and prices, but not on the new model. Taurus sales will never get much over 50-60k. Impala + LaCrosse + XTS sales will be way over Taurus + MKS sales. I'll be honest, on the spec sheet the Malibu looks to have some challenges but in person it's impressive, barring one major flaw....rear seat / foot space is an embarassment. Which, the Impala takes care of. I think it's going to be a car you'll have to drive instead of just internet shop. It looks dynamic in person.....huge overhangs withstanding. The rear end is a knockout and totally distinctive from the Impala. The new Fusion, like the new twice recalled Escape, may be over the top and too weird for some. The Impala and Malibu score big in the looks department. Chevy is going to ride this train. Every chevy sedan product is solid up and down the line now. It's time frickin burn up the charts. The new CVT in the Altima is what gets the 38mpg. I like CVT's but admit they are not all there yet. And most people don't drive at 65mph in cruise making no stops. It was probably easy to program the CVT to take advantage of the epa test. The exterior of the new Altima is dull. The interior is nice, but not game changing. If Chevy can match the Sonata's mpg ratings I think it will be fine. I expect the car to get decent mpg's overall. What the Altima gets in the real world will be dependent on how it's driven. Leadfoot a CVT and the mileage drops. I can take my Kizashis out and do things like a 40 mpg loops at avg 60 mph with very few stops and pull 37 mpg overall but if i start hitting major stop and go I am down to 25-27. One time i rented the 2010 Altima and put 1000 miles on it and only got like 27 mpg. My buddy has gotten 30-32 highway mostly on his Malibu.

ugly....my aztek was a peach in comparison

i think the cruze wouldn't lose much mpg with a 1.6t and DI vs a 1.4.....and probably would get more power.

not sure why but Buick Beaver..... j/k

ATS first. Then, CTS. then the stage is set for the flagship.

agree. there is no point to doing a 90k cadillac that few will buy unless people are clamoring for it. there is pent up demand for the DTS/XTS, that will sell also. I think the next 10 years the German's elaborate top end models will get clipped....the world economy and climate folks will make sure to that. Why do you think BMW and merc are investing more in front drive $h!boxes?

i love sportside reg cab trucks too. i would beat you to the punch on this!

torque band should be calibrated for both, low rpm 75 mph cruise (good highway mpg) and plenty of torque and horsepower for good acceleration without having to lean on it a lot.

"She has a really sensitive KiaQuoris"

of course the 1.8 has a bit of a heritage from a number standpoint. should go a long way towards making VW stronger, as long as the car is not in the shop all the time like lots of VW's can be. it interesting to see how much VW is skimping in some ways, maybe not significant, but look at how thin and flimsy the letters are that they glue on the trunk lids these days.....not very substantial....

stupid. kia should stay out of this. I could see something more along the lines of the Azera in really low volume.....

progress

was an lol moment today finding and sharing these....... can't really get into it, but aside from that, I will say this.... myself personally not a fan of that dash at all and it looks like maybe it's growing to matrix / vibe size.. (at least Aerio size)....... which would be ok. in fact it sorta seems like maybe they stole the Vibe stamping dies.... turbo sounds interesting....... hopefully it out subarus the impreza. don't look for this before the 2014 model year. internet news i see says likely a kizashi based crossover in 2014 MY too....... These are my own opinions here, i think the VW partnership really messed up Suzuki and I think they are trying to get through to the 2014 new products as best they can. you should drive a kizasi its quite good.

not the cosworth vega then.....

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