Listening to Leone on the Cadillac ATS

It doesn’t take a Kreskin to predict that the 2013 Cadillac compact sport sedan, which is now ramping up at the GM Lansing Grand River Assembly facility, where it is being built on the same line as the Cadillac CTS, will become Cadillac’s best-selling car, pronto. It is priced right, starting at $33,990. It is contented right, with an array of high-end materials inside and out as well as clever components from the shocks to the lamps. And it is engineered right, with a 50:50 weight distribution and a remarkably low mass (as low as 3,315 lb.) vis-à-vis its competitive set (which includes the likes of the BMW 3, Mercedes C, and Audi A4).

It is this last item—the engineering—that I’d like to call your attention to. While we’ve written about the ATS engineering, here’s an opportunity to listen to the top engineer on the project, Dave Leone, who has not only worked on an array of Cadillacs (including the XLR and the CTS) but whose portfolio now includes the Chevy Camaro, as well.

In this presentation, you’ll learn not only the approach taken by the Cadillac engineering team, but what’s probably more important, about how their laser-like focus (and by the way, there is laser brazing used not only on the ATS roof, but decklid, as well) kept them from doing things that were not part of their mandate.

And on your way to listening to Leone, you’ll have the opportunity to gain some industry insights from Autoline Detroit host John McElroy and the ever-provocative Autoextremist Peter DeLorenzo. (And yes, I’m there, too.)