GM Alpha platform

The GM Alpha platform currently underpins General Motors' compact to mid-size, front-engine, rear-wheel and four-wheel drive vehicles. Platform basics include MacPherson struts on the front, 5 link independent rear, use of high strength steel and aluminum, and an overall focus on reducing weight. The GM Alpha platform made its debut in the 2013 Cadillac ATS, which entered production in July 2012.

Main article: List of GM platforms
GM Alpha platform
2013 Cadillac ATS
Overview
ManufacturerGeneral Motors
ProductionJuly 2012–present
Assembly
Body and chassis
Class
Layout
Body style(s)
Vehicles
Powertrain
Engine(s)
Transmission(s)
Dimensions
Wheelbase
  • 109.3 in (2,776 mm)
  • 114.6 in (2,911 mm)
Chronology
PredecessorGM Sigma platform (Midsize)
GM Zeta platform (for the Chevrolet Camaro)

History

Prior to the August 2012 debut of the compact Cadillac ATS, the first vehicle produced on the GM Alpha platform, Cadillac's smallest vehicle was the mid-size CTS.[2] The CTS was priced the same as compact competitors like the Audi A4, the BMW 3 Series and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class but was noticeably larger and heavier, comparable in size and weight to the mid-size BMW 5 Series. Although Cadillac believed that customers would favor a 5 Series-sized car at a 3 Series price, that assumption proved to be incorrect. Cadillac's research found that target customers who already owned vehicles like the 3 Series or A4 didn't want a larger vehicle. General Motors began development of a platform to underpin a smaller car that would satisfy these target customers; that car would eventually become the ATS.[3]

Development rationale

During the early development of the Cadillac ATS, General Motors engineers determined that downsizing the GM Sigma II platform that underpinned the second-generation CTS would result in a vehicle that was too heavy and that using an economical, front-wheel drive platform would sacrifice performance. Under the leadership of Dave Leone, General Motors engineers created a brand-new platform which was designed to be light and compact, capable of handling both rear- and all-wheel drive configurations and having a near 50/50 weight distribution.[4][5] The new platform developed by the General Motors engineers for the ATS is now called the GM Alpha platform.[4]

Production start

General Motors began assembling Cadillac ATS sedans intended for sale to customers on 26 July 2012.[6]

General Motors began assembling third generation Cadillac CTS sedans intended for sale to customers on 16 September 2013.[7][8]

Vehicles on sale

References
  1. "2016 Chevrolet Camaro". GM Authority. Retrieved 2015-08-31.
  2. "GM Poised to Thrive with New Cars, Tech, Reuss Says" (Press release). Traverse City, Michigan: General Motors. August 4, 2011. Retrieved 2019-11-08. Cadillac next year will launch the XTS large luxury sedan and a compact luxury sports sedan codenamed ATS, models that will bracket the CTS Sedan, Coupe and Wagon family, Reuss said at the Center for Automotive Research’s Management Briefing Seminars.
  3. Lorio, Joe (October 2012). "First Drive: 2013 Cadillac ATS". Automobile. Source Interlink Media. OCLC 44212172. Archived from the original on 2012-11-21. Retrieved November 21, 2012. According to ATS chief engineer Dave Masch, one of the things Cadillac learned from its time spent with owners of competitive vehicles...was that 'buyers didn't want a bigger vehicle.'
  4. Csere, Csaba (March 2012). "Dissected: 2013 Cadillac ATS". Car and Driver. Hearst Communications. OCLC 38224673. Retrieved 2019-11-08. Leone and his team started with a clean sheet of paper, creating a platform designed to be light and compact, with near 50/50 weight distribution as well as rear- and all-wheel drive.... The result is the new Alpha platform.
  5. Vlasic, Bill (August 23, 2012). "The Great Cadillac Hope (G.M. Has High Hopes for New, Smaller Cadillac)". The New York Times (New York ed.). The New York Times Company. p. B1. ISSN 0362-4331. OCLC 1645522. Archived from the original on November 30, 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-30. While G.M. ...has fared well with redesigns of standard models like the Chevrolet Malibu, the company started from scratch in designing the ATS.
  6. "Production Begins for 2013 Cadillac ATS" (Press release). Detroit, Michigan: General Motors. July 26, 2012. Retrieved 2019-11-08. The first 2013 Cadillac ATS compact luxury sport sedan intended for public sale was built today at the Lansing Grand River assembly plant in Michigan, culminating a massive design and development project.
  7. VanHulle, Lindsay (September 16, 2013). "New Cadillac CTS Millionth Car Off Line at GM's Lansing Grand River Plant". lsj.com. www.lansingstatejournal.com. Business. General Motors Co.'s newest Cadillac rolls onto dealer lots starting next month — and the Detroit automaker believes it will have another Lansing-made hit on its hands. The first upgraded 2014 Cadillac CTS sedan that will be sold through a dealership came off the line Monday at GM’s Lansing Grand River assembly plant...
  8. "Lansing Grand River Builds Millionth Cadillac" (Press release). Lansing, Michigan: General Motors. September 16, 2013. Retrieved 2019-11-08. The millionth Cadillac built at the Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant rolled off the line today. Fittingly, the milestone vehicle is an early model of the redesigned 2014 CTS sedan, which goes on sale in October.
  9. Zenlea, David (March 26, 2013). "2014 Cadillac CTS First Look". Automobile. Source Interlink Media. OCLC 44212172. Archived from the original on 2013-08-04. Retrieved 2013-08-02. The 2014 CTS rides on a stretched version of the Alpha platform that underpins the ATS.
  10. Floyd, Michael (February 4, 2010). "Next-Gen Camaro, CTS to Join Small Cadillac ATS on New Rear-Drive Platform". Motor Trend. Source Interlink Media. WOT. OCLC 423854316. Archived from the original on 2013-08-04. Retrieved 2013-08-02. Chevrolet’s next Camaro will switch to the global Alpha platform that General Motors is developing for Cadillac’s new BMW 3 Series fighter.
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