ATS Coupe, New Escalade On The Way

Derek Kreindler
by Derek Kreindler

With 70 percent of its buyers new to to the brand, the Cadillac ATS is an important way for the brand to bring new buyers into the fold. But the ATS is still missing an important product that its main competitors currently have; a coupe.

While the coupe market is small overall, two-door variants still count towards the overall volume of vehicles like the BMW 3-Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. And with the demise of the current CTS Coupe, a two-door ATS will fill a hole in Cadillac’s lineup by replacing a vehicle that attracted a bit of a following.

Also on deck for Caddy is the new Escalade, reportedly an evolutionary update of the current design. Reports state that a great deal of work has gone into upgrading the interior, which looks fairly dated at this point in time. While most enthusiasts will be excited by the prospect of an ATS coupe, a case can be made that the new Escalade is the more compelling product.

The Escalade is arguably Cadillac’s flagship, but the brand has apparently changed course late in its development cycle, moving away from the obnoxious (but awesome) bling-bling aesthetic to a look that M ark Reuss has called “understated yet elegant”. Personally, I think this is the wrong move; nobody buys an Escalade to fly under the radar (that’s what the Yukon Denali is for – check your local country club if you don’t believe me), but they do buy it to make a certain kind of statement. Beyond that, the public has embraced the Escalade in its role as the ride of choice for athletes, rappers and wealthy proles. In that niche, it truly is the standard of the world, more recognizable by name than even the Range Rover and the G-Wagen, the current ride of choice for America’s favorite nouveau riche Armenian clan. If only Cadillac would embrace it. If you want to make a statement about sustainability and your social conscience, go buy an ELR.

Derek Kreindler
Derek Kreindler

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  • Michael500 Michael500 on Apr 29, 2013

    An "understated yet elegant" 'Escamalade will NOT work for the Kardasians, because they are not understated (or elegant).

  • Jimbob457 Jimbob457 on Apr 30, 2013

    The more I read these automotive threads, the more I get the feeling the recently bankrupt GM is, in the US at least, just playing out the string offering increasingly outdated technology to an ever-shrinking customer base. Even their new products are usually no better than best third best in their marketplace - Volt, Malibu, et.al. GM just ain't no good anymore.

  • Wolfwagen Is it me or have auto shows just turned to meh? To me, there isn't much excitement anymore. it's like we have hit a second malaise era. Every new vehicle is some cookie-cutter CUV. No cutting-edge designs. No talk of any great powertrains, or technological achievements. It's sort of expected with the push to EVs but there is no news on that front either. No new battery tech, no new charging tech. Nothing.
  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
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