New 2013 Cadillac Outperforms Mercedes
FEATURE
With a curb weight of less than 3,400 pounds, the 2013 Cadillac ATS is the lightest sport sedan in this class, reports Motor Authority.
The path to the all-new compact sport sedan — which is going head-to-head with the BMW 3-Series — began five years ago, when the U.S. auto maker decided to adopt a “lean, built-from-scratch ethos.
The development team managed the weight of the ATS in three key ways:
Managing the size of the car. “We benchmarked all the competitors and looked for the most efficient designs,” ATS chief engineer Dave Masch told Motor Authority. “And then we improved from there.”
Weight-saving materials. “We did some substitution of materials…we’ve got magnesium engine brackets, aluminum extensively in the front end, and an aluminum instrument-panel beam.”
Every gram counts.“Instead of counting kilograms, we counted grams,” said Masch. “And so the whole perspective changed; we sweated the details on the size of a fastener, and asked can we make that fastener a size smaller and still provide the function that it needs to.” ©2012 GlobalFastenerNews.com
With a curb weight of less than 3,400 pounds, the 2013 Cadillac ATS is the lightest sport sedan in this class, reports Motor Authority.
The path to the all-new compact sport sedan — which is going head-to-head with the BMW 3-Series — began five years ago, when the U.S. auto maker decided to adopt a “lean, built-from-scratch ethos.
The development team managed the weight of the ATS in three key ways:
Managing the size of the car. “We benchmarked all the competitors and looked for the most efficient designs,” ATS chief engineer Dave Masch told Motor Authority. “And then we improved from there.”
Weight-saving materials. “We did some substitution of materials…we’ve got magnesium engine brackets, aluminum extensively in the front end, and an aluminum instrument-panel beam.”
Every gram counts. “Instead of counting kilograms, we counted grams,” said Masch. “And so the whole perspective changed; we sweated the details on the size of a fastener, and asked can we make that fastener a size smaller and still provide the function that it needs to.” ©2012 GlobalFastenerNews.com
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