Cadillac ATS Soon Made In China
Many hopes are pinned on the success of the new Cadillac ATS. It could become a bit more successful when it is built in China. Chinese production will start in late 2013, writes Carnewschina.
The car will be produced by GM’s joint venture with SAIC. Until production ramps up, the ATS will be imported to China. It is expected to debut at the Guangzhou Auto Show in November. Carnewschina does not have high hopes for volume sales of the imported ATS:
“It will be expensive compared to locally made competition such as the Audi A4L, the BMW 3Li and the Mercedes-Benz C-class. The real battle then, will only begin in early 2014.”
The L in the models by the competition does not stand for Luxury. It stands for Long. If you are somebody in China, you don’t drive, you are driven, and you want leg room in the aft compartment.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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Imagine how America's economy would be if we build Chrysler 300 and Cadillacs inside America. We'd never be able to keep up with the demand, so maybe, after we'd employed as many Americans as possible, maybe then we'd outsource remaining factory jobs and services. Take car of our people first. I'm just saying. Maybe we could do it just like GERMANY and JAPAN. Ya know - instead of running trade deficits for over 30 years and cutting the pensioned workforce from over 85% to under 40%. 401K's were NEVER meant to be our main retirement revenue.
I want to know why we don't get the "L" versions of these cars. A lot of people shy away from the 3 series/ A4 /C class becuase of rear leg room. And it's not becuase they prefer to be driven, it's because rear facing child seats don't freaking fit without putting someone's knees into the dash or putting the child seat between the front seats, which is awkward. I've often assumed that part of the runaway success of the new VW Jetta comes from it's ability to comfortably hold a child seat in teh back.
My first thought when I read the headline was. "Oh, that didn't take China that long to come up with it's version of a clone. It should retail for about $15K"
"It could become a bit more successful when it is built in China." That implies (to me anyway) the US-built ATS is NOT successful. The ATS _JUST_ went on sale. It is far to early to gauge its success anywhere. But yeah, even if it's built in China to bring down the cost, if it doesn't have a long wheelbase and ample rear legroom like the Germans, it probably won't be that big of a hit.