Engineers on the Cadillac ATS took a chemistry-lab approach to deliver the brand’s first entry into the compact luxury sedan segment. Metals such as Martensitic alloys and ultra-high strength steel, among other materials, help make ATS one of the lightest vehicles in the class. Indeed, the ATS weighs 1540 kg, where the Mercedes C Class 350 Blue Efficiency weighs 1610 kg and the BMW 335i weighs 1595 kg.
Still, the ATS is among the safest, earning a 5-star overall crash test rating in the New Car Assessment Program run by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Source: Cadillac
Romain Nicolas opinion:
Weight reduction solutions are very interesting in terms of fuel saving when we know how a saved gram of CO2 is valuable for car makers. However changing materials of the white body can be very costly in terms of process and tooling cost. Do you know how the business case is built to see if such solution is valuable and profitable?
