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A behind the scenes video posted by a production company shows some minor tweaks to the Cadillac ATS. The biggest one being the new front grille/badge, shared with the ATS Coupe.
Although no mechanical changes are expected, someone at the production house is going to be changing jobs very soon, thanks to this slip-up.
The new badge looks stupid on that grille. I like these cars, but if I bought a ’15, it’s getting the wreath back.
It looks like a smashed Caddy badge.
I can’t decide if its better or worse than the 2000 era “fusion of design and technology” marque. But its certainly worse than the various iterations which preceded 2000.
The new logo also looks like a mixed up Optimus Prime transformers logo.
Seriously did interns take over Cadillac and say “wow yeah that Transformers movie was awesome lets make the crest like Optimus Prime!”
Joke’s on you guys. Interns leaked this photo in working stages to see how people reacted, before it’s too late. Now they’ll be going back to the wreath.
/s …like Cadillac would think like that.
Bingo. That badge is heinous. The first thing I thought even just glancing at the still was “Autobots?!?”.
It rather looks like a nose at this point—a large, flat, awkwardly-shaped nose.
Good God that is hideous. From far away it looks like someone tried to design an “ANY CAR” badge for a TV series that wanted a “generic badge” or like the programmers over at the GTA video game franchise wanted something for their next offering.
I totally agree. Instant reaction was, “video game car badge?”. Then it has a vague Chevy-like thing going on, like it’s their logo but distorted, which is what some video game car badges look like…
Unfortunately the GTA car badges have more detail than this.
The one for the Cadillac brand in game (Albany) is a circle jerk if you zoom in with a sniper rifle. From a distance it just looks like a crown. Pretty clever.
Agreed, it just does not look right.
I agree. I don’t like this new badge at all.
Agree, definitely needs the wreath back. I always thought the old logo looked handsome, just not when blown up to dinner plate size like on the Escalade.
It’s the original Cadillac badge, sort of. It was the badge inside the wreath until, like Americans, the hips got a little wide and the wreath couldn’t hold it in!
I like the overall design of this car. I also like the wreath gone. Much cleaner. However, it accentuates the biggest flaw in the design, the grill is too generic, big and empty. It needs a lot of work there.
The camera truck is a Mercedes. GM trucks too jumpy? Wonder why they didn’t use a Teutonic handling GM truck.
In the picture it looks like the bulge in the hood runs down and is also shaped into the grille which is a nice touch but at a glance (if I were passing it in traffic) you are correct, it’s too plain looking. Where’s the egg crate grill influence? Five pencil thin vertical chrome slats across the grill in addition to what’s there would work wonders.
Agreed overall its a nice design with interesting touches but either they are too subtle or sparse. I think your idea is quite good actually.
The egg crate grille looked really snazzy on the 1971 Impala!
“The camera truck is a Mercedes. GM trucks too jumpy? Wonder why they didn’t use a Teutonic handling GM truck.”
Likely belongs to the production company who was contracted by GM in this case.
Yes of course. Was wondering out loud though if there is a technical justification. Maybe someone with a background in the production area will speak up.
I can’t imagine it matterting all that much. The camera boom, gimballs and all that stuff should take care of that. *Not a film expert*
Probably, although you’d think GM would object if they knew.
It could be worse. Southern California Honda dealers are running ads showing how helpful they are. In one ad, some Honda guys are helping a couple move their belongings. The truck they’re using is clearly a Ford E-series.
I have seen that same truck several times over the years, it just belongs to the production company. I think it has something like $2 million worth of equipment on it.
Is this a lower trim ATS that lacks the waterfall-type LED running lights? It’s one thing to leak a flattering video or picture, but this really sucks.
Where’s the wreath?
So Cadillac has already changed the logo in most of its PR materials, and the three dealerships I’ve seen here in Oklahoma all have the updated logo on their road signs. Why, then, did Cadillac even *bother* to release its three newest products (2014 ELR, 2014 CTS & 2015 Escalade) with the old, outgoing badge? They *know* they’re just going to have to change it up in a year. It seems like it would have been smarter to just phase it in with the new introductions…
Because GM. I think the Escalade should always have the wreath. It should also be roughly the size of a large pizza.
Gotta go back to the classics. The 1957 one would be my choice, but in lieu of it i would go with the 1933 iteration.
cartype.com/pics/3490/full/cadillac_logo_history.jpg
I like the ’57 logo. I would look good on the front of the Escalade.
I agree, although I think it looks good on almost any Cadillac. There was an E&G emblem kit you could order on the C and K body Devilles in the 90s using those emblems. Made even a Northstar look classy.
I *have* to agree. The new Escalade, despite its squareness and general heft, kind of evokes a similar “glass and metal” artisan feel that a ’57 Cadillac does, in my opinion.
I was just perusing some advertising websites announcing the logo change last year, and my basic take on them was “we need to project an image of fake hipster garbage”. In a business where image and branding are very important, faking an image when you already have a rich tapestry to work with is moronic. Most of the people who remember the 1950s are getting toward the end of the road, and the majority of new potential buyers would not know the 1957 Cadillac logo if they fell over it. Since that era actually represented a time when Cadillacs were truly world class, why not capitalize on it? But no we’ll be stupid and Twitterize the crest and then wonder why so much of the product can’t be moved without generous incentive and for the most part will screw their owners in resale.
From the horses mouth:
“”Just as our vehicles are longer, lower, and leaner, we wanted to make sure that the Crest represented the same kind of brand evolution as our cars,” Cadillac said.”
In valley-girl-ese:
So like you’re like BMW but like not as good but you like cost as much as my X3?
http://adage.com/article/news/cadillac-unveils-logo-iconic-wreath/291190/
Yes, the new logo will be installed a year from now, plus a couple other minor trim changes, and the result will be called a “refresh”. Give GM credit, they’re thinking ahead (if not intelligently).
Meaningless change meant to mask a lack of real advancement.
Fix CUE and improve the 2.0T, then you get to produce pretty videos.
Why is a very late model Mercedes ML being used as a camera truck for a GM commercial? I mean, the marked cruiser was at least a W-Impala.
While we’re on the subject, how does one make a business case for a Mercedes ML SUV to be used as a camera truck? Were Chevy, Ford, and Dodge all fresh out of trucks that day?
If they needed an SUV, GM makes a few of those. Was a Yukon or Tahoe not available?
GM probably doesn’t provide the camera vehicle though.
The Benz likely belongs to the production crew who doesn’t actually work inside GM. Likely a contractor hired to do the shots, so they use whatever they fancy.
I responded above, you’re probably right. I would think GM would have objected if they knew though. I doubt their chosen contractor was the only game in town.
Show me the dash and then I make a decision.
Here’s a pre-production 2015 ATS dash:
http://gtcarlot.com/data/Pontiac/Grand+Prix/1998/2189858/Dashboard.html
burn L0L
2015 Cadillac ATS, coming soon to a BHPH near you.
What I find interesting about the ATS is…..
…what?… serious?!…
Sorry, New Balance just introduced 3 new men’s walkers!
Gotta go!
Don’t forget your extension cord on the way out!
…What I find interesting about the ATS is…..
…what?… serious?!….
Sadly, conventional wisdom shows that for US buyers – boring sells. Boring sells in amazing vast quantities. The average American buyer adores the bland and contrived.
I noticed one interesting thing about the ATS: Southern California dealers are drowning in ones with manual transmissions. Looking at cars.com, I found dozens of ATSs listed and only THREE BMWs that weren’t M6s or M6 Grand Poops. Two 228i’s and one 328i made up the entire manual offering for San Diego, Orange County and much of LA. Score one for Cadillac! Too bad they finally got around to trying after everyone in the pretentious compact market’s balls dropped off.
@Apa..etc
I heartily agree and I was secretly admiring the maturity of this particular Caddy. The general lack of ostentation approaches that of a traditional Camry.
I never thought I’d see a Cadillac that didn’t repel me with glitz but rather soothed the eye with that peculiar, almost Amish design chastity and simplicity of previous Corollas, Camrys and Avalons.
From 2014 on, though, I’m afraid that those three superb vehicles will be increasingly afflicted with Styling to the detriment of their once superior aesthetic of quiet, competent conventionalism.
This ATS to me seems to be treading in the reverse direction. But that’s all whimsical and academic because this Caddy is still priced like a Caddy, is GM built and could never achieve let alone surmount the quality peak of a Toyota. So why bother? So I went to look at shoes.
New logo sucks.
Losing the wreath could be a concession to the Chinese market. Wreaths, if I recall correctly, are disliked by some Chinese because they are associated with funerals.
Then why not make a different badge for the Chinese market? Automakers do this with various cars all the time – different marques or whatever for the same car in different local markets.
Or, as others suggested, resurrect the ’57 logo.
I think the new badge looks stupid. It looks especially stupid on this car – like it got in a bar fight and someone flattened its nose.
Because Cadillac wants to be marketed as a “global” brand.
A specific branding for country X versus Y versus Z, from a branding stand point, is not a good strategy. Especially with global icons.
I’m no fan of the design language in the pic.
What we don’t know – before everyone gets up in arms. Is this a “final” reveal or is this something still being baked. Remember, the video wasn’t supposed to be released yet (or maybe it was)
Nice Chevrolet Cruze.
I have to agree. That is one nice looking Chevy.
I thought Acura had the transformer look but now it’s on Cadillac’s face. I liked the face before this new smile.
I dunno. Seems like another boring GM attempt to pretend that they are still a reliable top tier auto manufacturer. Who in their right mind would want to pay what they are asking for these questionable products, anyway? My buddy buys used caddys that have really dropped in price and then sells them when the Northstar V8 starts to leak oil. Another benefit from owning a caddy. You get to change models frequently because the just go to hell quicker than other brands. Shouldn’t there be a class action lawsuit by caddy owners for the miserable reliability of these behemoths.
Well, we all get shorter and wider with age…
I know my tastes aren’t the most mainstream, but is this really better looking than an ’89 Seville?
That’s a matter of personal taste. What the ATS isn’t is remotely as attractive as the 1992 Seville Touring Sedan. What happened?
The ATS Coupe looks fantastic in person, at least in the blue color they showed in Detroit. The tweaked 2015 sedan… is fine, but a bit less fantastic.
The new badge is just wrong, though. Losing the wreath was a mistake.
wow what kind of jokers run that company, obviously some good engineers but whoever is calling the shots is not so swift
Does look a lot like the Geely Emgrand
Why so much hate? I’m confused – I thought there was almost unanimous consensus among the auto press that the ATS is a damn good car – most say it out-drives a 3 series. I understand if you don’t like the styling, but I for one didn’t care for the stealth fighter look, so for me the newer cars are actually going in a better direction.
Seems like a lot of unnecessary drama over the badge design…
Agreed. Compared to the A3 and CLA this is the best compact luxury car by a considerable margin. Unfortunately on the pages the Cadillac hate runs deep by both the comment section and editorial staff.
I thought Cadillac built the ATS to compete with the Audi A4, BMW 3-Series and Mercedes C-Class, not the Audi A3 and Mercedes CLA.
As for the ATS “outdriving” the 3-Series – every review I’ve read says that Cadillac got that part right, but the car falls short in most other critical areas. It’s certainly not a bad car, but it’s not the best in its class, even with the dilution of the present 3-Series.
Unfortunately, when you’re trying to establish yourself in a class filled with seasoned competitors, one of which is practically an icon (for better or worse), that isn’t enough.
“… the Cadillac hate runs deep by both the comment section and editorial staff.”
Wow, you weren’t kidding. *slowly backs away from the computer*
That’s because GM stopped building Cadillacs and sells what amounts to a half-assed Oldsmobile for Cadillac money.
Then how the hell did this car get such ubiquitous good press as a driving machine? (I never realized Oldsmobiles were so awesome)
Precisely its a driving machine, a BMW copy. This is not what Cadillac is, ever was, or will be. This is why the awesome driving machine can’t be sold without heavy incentives and has poor resale compared to the awesome German driving machines.
BTW, I wasn’t characterizing the ATS as awesome, but if it’s just a half-assed Olds, that would make the Olds pretty awesome (there’s a joke in there somewhere…)
So if it was more of a heavy, wallowing pig like Caddys traditionally were you’d be happy? Plz help me to understand…
Olds and Buicks depending on model line were traditionally built on the same Cadillac platforms but were offered with less features and lesser motors. Olds/Buick were semi-premium and in theory the Cadillac was “premium”. The brand was supposed to represent the best GM had to offer and in some ways best its competition. The trouble with being “premium” vs “semi-premium” is its not just product, engineering, or options, its also perception. The people who did perceive Cadillacs as premium started dying out in the late 90s, so around the time they dropped Olds, Buick started using more of the generic platforms and Cadillac became poor mans BMW. The trouble was, the brand lost its identity trying to copy another. It became semi-premium for premium money, and the people *with* money continue to ignore many of its products because they see it for what it is. The current GM brand strategy is essentially Chevrolet/GMC, Buick as semi-premium FWD, and Cadillac as semi-premium RWD. Whether its the douchey marketing idiots in control of the brand, the beancounters decontenting it, or the thirty years if brand destruction, I can’t say. But pretending its 1960 again and thinking you’re great when you’re not isn’t helping the cause. In 2013, over 50% of the brand’s sales were SRX for a 1.1% market share. So 0.55% or thereabouts off all cars sold were Cadillacs and not SRXs. So Escalades, Sigma CTS Sedan/Coupe/Wagon, XTS, and ATS. 0.55%. The Cadillac brand alone commanded 2.4% of all sales in 1993. Cadillac will continue to slide until they slim down the lineup and return to building traditional cars with oodles of power, prestige, and style.
http://www.100megsfree4.com/cadillac/cad1990/cad94.htm
“Cadillac will continue to slide until they slim down the lineup and return to building traditional cars with oodles of power, prestige, and style.”
Great historical summation (not sure it’s anything I wasn’t already aware of, but whatever). If I may challenge you just a bit further though…
I’m far from being a GM/Cadillac apologist or fanboi, but let’s take your recipe for success point by point.
“oodles of power” – CTS-V covers that in spades I’d say. As to the rest of their offerings, isn’t everyone, including the Germans, trending away from V8s, and NA V6s?
“prestige” – has to be earned, right? Producing not one but two award-winning and highly acclaimed sedans is a pretty big step in the right direction, no?
“style” – this is a tough one, since it’s so subjective as to be non-demonstrable. If they emulate the Germans then they’re just posers, if they try to distinguish the designs too much then they risk alienating potential buyers new to the brand (which is what they desperately need, right?)
I’m not saying that GM/Cadillac couldn’t do some things better (couldn’t every auto maker?) but to suggest that they pretty much suck and are run by idiots is, to me, way over the top.
““oodles of power” – CTS-V covers that in spades I’d say.
That reasoning would suggest that the Escalade covers for the ATS’s unusable rear seat. The CTS-V is great for what it is, which isn’t a Cadillac, meanwhile the rest of the line has mostly shared motors with Chevy rentals, only even worse because at least the Chevys got the bored and stroked 3.6L edition.
““prestige” – has to be earned, right? Producing not one but two award-winning and highly acclaimed sedans is a pretty big step in the right direction, no?”
If acclaim in the wanna be racer press were worth anything then Mazda would sell cars.
““style” – this is a tough one, since it’s so subjective as to be non-demonstrable. If they emulate the Germans then they’re just posers,”
Cadillac had style. Art & Science looked great, American, and like nothing else. So in the usual GM way, they halfassed the rest of the car, left them on the market unchanged for 6 or 7 years so they could sell new cars that already looked like used cars, and then excised it entirely for the sake of the Chinese market.
Cadillac used to mean something to everyone who knew what a car was. Today it means nothing at all to people who don’t go out of their way to be interested in cars and it’s a punchline to people who do.
They are idiots. They do suck.
@hybridkiller
CTS-V is a limited production model, not a trim. All CTS product should be of the same standard of CTS-V, the “V” being the top trim with all the extras topped in. Not doing so while charging BMW money is a slap in the face to your customers. I read the idea of CTS originally was supposed to be BMW 5 series for less money, and one may argue it succeeded. Now its close to BMW for nearly BMW money, with no significant gains over the BMW. Cadillac is not the market leader and should not act as such, it needs to either offer a different type of product where it legitimately is the best, or it needs to best the competition. If people really believed Cadillac has bested Audi/BMW/Mercedes, I should see them everywhere. But I don’t, and my region is traditionally GM country. I see more newer Lexuses than I see newer Cadillacs. I realize my observations are not valid data, but they shape my opinion.
Regarding NA V8s/V6s and such, Cadillac must do what is best for its customers, which it fails to do by following a trend. If I am a turbo fan boy, the Euro marques may have me covered, and if they do why am I looking at the “American” brand for similar money? Not going with the trend is a better move for the brand, and market to that fact. I posted in another Cadillac article the take rate of the NA V6 in a auction sample of MY13 ATS was 56%. This shows me over half of the model’s buyers felt the I4 was not for them and paid extra for the V6. I think you would see more model sales with a standard V6 and V8 option, keep the turbo I4 for S&G.
https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/06/cadillacs-peffer-resigns-amid-falling-sales/#comment-3409642
Regarding style, I agree its subjective.
“…but the car falls short in most other critical areas.”
I don’t have a dog in this fight, the ATS is not a car that would ever be on my personal radar – therefore I don’t really care either way.
That said, please educate me (seriously). The most consistently cited shortcomings I’ve read have to do with things like rear seat legroom and trunk space – if someone doesn’t care about such things then by definition they aren’t “critical”. I know the base engine sucks, but the turbo motor fixes that. So what else?
CUE is garbage and the Cadillac badge is baggage in the parts of this country that lease expensive new cars.
Drivetrains, build quality and the quality of some interior components (instrument cluster, for example).
The rear seat isn’t just short of legroom – it has a very skimpy bottom cushion. I think people shopping for a car in this segment could live with the limited rear legroom, but the seat itself isn’t all that great.
The ATS has a great chassis, no doubt about it, but the BMW 3-Series is an all-around more polished car. Add to that the greater prestige of the BMW badge, as compared to the Cadillac wreath and crest, and it becomes readily apparent that the ATS needs more than a great chassis to make headway in this market.
I thought the build quality was reportedly pretty good on the newer cars, have I missed something?
Is Lincoln doing any better on the “prestige” front? Chrysler? (I know, Chrysler isn’t playing the same game) I think all these brands are still facing considerable pro-import bias in the luxury segment, irrespective of whether or not the cars are actually competitive.
I’ll say one thing, you guys have this tag team act cold. I guess one man’s glory-days/ain’t-what-they-used-to-be is another man’s stuck-in-the-past. The funny thing is, I always thought of Cadillac as like a stodgy (if not affluent) old persons’ car. Now that they’re innovating and trying to change with the times evidently they suck for doing it. So they need to go back to building overweight aircraft carriers with handling to match, that needed big V8s just to get out of their own way.
Ok, I got it now, thanks to all for enlightening me.
I have a theory…
Cadillac has been permanently banned from the ranks of status symbols because for all its cliched association with wealth and privilege, from roughly the ’60s through the ’80s it really was a working class dream car.
Unionized tradesman and factory workers, high school educated salesmen, realtors, store owners etc. aspired to and achieved Caddy ownership on a broad scale during the peak of our postwar economy as their reward and justification for keeping their noses to the grindstone all those years.
These were people of dogged, unsophisticated belief in a society and economy that would pretty much taper off and die with them. But their children’s generation had forever burned into their consciousness the image of gaudy, block-long Cadillacs pulling up to disgorge funny, stocky oldsters in Hawaiian shirts and checkered shorts who spoke like Archie and Edith Bunker; people whose lives had been sweaty with work, worry and raising large families, guided by staunch patriotism and usually religious.
OMG! Eeeewwww! to the yuppies and hipsters that followed, right? I think Cadillac in our collective consciousness represents every embarrassing excess of postwar America and also reeks of an unchained lumpen proletariat that for a brief while earned enough money to co-opt existing status symbols. This is utterly unforgivable to the hordes of diploma mill poseurs.
The Mark of Excellence is now the mark of Cain to modern status seekers.
I think this may be the baggage to which Dan refers.
Kenmore, I think you’re retrospective analysis is bang on, and I never for a second disputed that Cadillac/GM has legacy issues to overcome. I just don’t think that whatever approach they take to try and dig out of that hole is ever going to be good enough for the haters. The ATS is a well engineered driving maching but it’s too small and not powerful enough – The CTS is bigger and plenty powerful but it’s not a “real” Cadillac (whatever THAT is) – and on it goes…
I have a theory too – that Cadillac can’t go back to what it once was, and can’t (in the current market anyway) compete as a “me too” luxury brand. Maybe they need to forge an entirely new identity to be successful once again, and maybe they actually know that- but continuing to judge their efforts based on past culture and expectations seems to me an exercise in futility.
But like they say, haters gonna hate.
Like you, I have no stake in this but it is fascinating. I agree that no effort by Cadillac will ever subdue the haters. I also think that factors far beyond the mere realm of car cognoscenti widen this hatred to the broader car-buying public.
For this one brand, the teapot squabbles of car guys actually mirror the public perception but for very different reasons.
In my mind Cadillac’s main problem with the car buying public is this: if they’re spending upwards of 60K on a car they want people to know it, and nothing screams affluence like the big 3 Germans. Until we get past that deeply cultural knee-jerk perception then Cadillac will continue to struggle, no matter how good of a car they build.
I agree and I will never understand status lemmings; but I also don’t understand paying over 25K for a temporary aggregate of already corroding metal, glass and polymers.
I realize I can be this way only because the Asians got into the game and my loyalty to them makes me a bit of a reverse snob.
I’ve always had a huge contrarian streak in me – if something is “cool” or popular I don’t want it – unless of course I DO want it for my own reasons (after all, I’m a contrarian, not an idiot)
Yeah, that extra 25K I could have spent on my last car looks SO much better in my stock portfolio, because unlike the car, it APpreciates.
I agree with:
‘The effort to transform Cadillac into a credible competitor against the likes of Audi and BMW is commendable, but misguided. Cadillac always has – and always will be – a purely American commodity. The only reason Europeans were drawn to Cadillacs in the first place was that they were once an unabashed and completely unapologetic representation of American luxury motoring.’
.. but there’s no chance that Caddy could chase RR .. !?!
Previous CTS is the best they did in the last decade(attractive oryginal A&S design: sedan and coupe .. no cabrio, though
+ good engines) .. and they should fallow this path..
Escalade is a nice ‘one of a kind\'(full-size) ‘hash-mobile’ .. and XLR was quite brave design..
Unfortunatelly new CTS looks gaudy and messy , the same with
‘blunt-looking’ ATS ..
They should go global(not ‘global product’!) with niche ‘american’ Cadillac ..
(it would be also nice, if Ford would put some money into Lincoln and bring it back to life ..)
Look, this is a largely subjective argument and as such the side with more matching opinions wins – so you guys win. I’ve already acknowledged that the sales numbers are bad, but apart from that the argument I’m hearing is nebulous and unfocused – You keep moving the goalpost around, all the while pining for the good old days and making meaningless statements like “that’s not a Cadillac”. Here’s a news flash – nobody’s buying the kind of cars Cadillac used to make – and no one wants them anymore (well, except for a dozen or so people on this website)
So the question then becomes, where does Cadillac go from here?
Perhaps a little effort towards understanding their target audience.
The ultra-wealthy, the “1%”, don’t buy Cadillacs – never did, never will, so we can focus on the single-digit millionaires (7 figure net worth) and the upper middle class in general. These people are not old money, they mostly built their financial portfolio the old fashioned way – they pursued a lucrative career, started a successful business, maybe climbed the corporate ladder, etc.
You don’t build a really good financial situation for yourself without being (somewhat) disciplined and pragmatic. If you think most of these people don’t care about boring things like fuel economy and (for some) having a car that’s easy(er) to park and maneuver on urban streets, you’d be wrong. Most moderately successful people – the kind who can comfortably afford to drop 70K on a car – don’t want the biggest, most ostentatious thing they can find. And yes there is research and data to support this, I can dig it up if you want, but I’ll simply point you to a book titled “The Millionaire Next Door” (it’s research-based, not just an opinion piece).
My point is, people who care about “image” and “prestige” are going to buy a Merc, BMW, or Audi. Period. It’s the way the world is right now. They’re not going to buy a Cadillac, even if it’s an ATS with a wet bar and sofa in the back and an LT4 shoehorned into it. Add to that the fact that the brand is trying to climb out of a hole that took GM multiple decades to dig.
One more time: I’m NOT saying they’re doing everything right by any means, but Cadillac is facing headwinds that have absolutely nothing to do with the calibre of their current offerings – if you can’t see that then you’re missing the big picture.
Peace to all.
Well put.