Cadillac's ATS

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Cadillac's ATS Cuts Mass 1 Gram at a Time
Charles Murray Design News


Cadillac will make its debut in the compact luxury market segment this year, thanks to a massive engineering effort that has resulted in a lightweight, high-strength body structure.

The structure makes liberal use of aluminum, magnesium, high-strength steel, and ultra-high-strength steel. It played a key role in bringing the new ATS sedan in at a curb weight 500 pounds lighter than that of its closest predecessor, the Cadillac CTS.

"We counted mass on all of our structural members in terms of grams," David Masch, vehicle chief engineer of Cadillac, told us. "We even ended up debating the size of fasteners."

The ATS body structure employs a combination of aluminum, magnesium,
high-strength steel, and ultra-high-strength steel.
(Source: Design News)

Cadillac's design effort called on teams of structural engineers, chassis engineers, materials specialists, and mathematicians to create a body structure that would manage loads intelligently. By positioning structural members to be in shear, rather than in bending, the designers made cross-sectional areas of virtually all members smaller. "Putting members in shear is the most efficient way to manage loads," Masch said. "The more you can get those structural members in line with the loads, the more efficient you can make them."


Cadillac engineers augmented the optimized structural load path with materials that further reduced weight. They employed high-strength steel, which offers yield and tensile strengths about four times higher than those of conventional steels. They also used ultra-high-strength steel, which is about four times stronger than high-strength steel. Those materials allowed strategic structural members to be made from thinner gauges.

To further reduce vehicle mass, the engineering team also employed an aluminum hood, aluminum shock towers, an aluminum engine cradle, an aluminum instrument panel beam, and magnesium engine brackets.

Cadillac's 3,400lb ATS will mark the automaker's debut in the compact luxury market.
(Source: Cadillac)

The new car's powertrain and suspension also make extensive use of aluminum. Its cylinder block, cylinder heads, and pistons are made of lightweight cast aluminum. The intake manifold saves about 5.5 pounds, and the exhaust manifold saves about 13 pounds through the use of aluminum. And the engine's connecting rods are made from a powder metal that incorporates a high ratio of copper, thus further cutting weight.

The ATS five-year design effort is notable, not only for its intelligent structural design, but also for Cadillac's ongoing commitment to costly engineering processes while GM struggled with its finances. During that period, Cadillac engineers benchmarked competitors' vehicles, such as the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes C-Class, and Audi A4. They ran clinics in China, Germany, the US, and Great Britain. They visited and rode with owners of those vehicles and learned about the advantages and disadvantages of each. Finally, they built multiple ATS mules to analyze the performance of sub-systems, such as the suspension, and tested them on race tracks.


Cadillac, which displayed the ATS at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit last week, hopes that the lightweight structure will play a role in making the vehicle more controllable. At 3,400 pounds, the car is lighter than or equal to every other car in its compact luxury class, the company's engineers say.

"Light weight is a big part of the formula that will make this car a success," Masch said. "It helps makes the ATS fast, nimble, and fun to drive."

[Shimy87]

Cadillac's ATS Cuts Mass 1 Gram at a Time
Charles Murray Design News


Cadillac will make its debut in the compact luxury market segment this year, thanks to a massive engineering effort that has resulted in a lightweight, high-strength body structure.

The structure makes liberal use of aluminum, magnesium, high-strength steel, and ultra-high-strength steel. It played a key role in bringing the new ATS sedan in at a curb weight 500 pounds lighter than that of its closest predecessor, the Cadillac CTS.

"We counted mass on all of our structural members in terms of grams," David Masch, vehicle chief engineer of Cadillac, told us. "We even ended up debating the size of fasteners."

The ATS body structure employs a combination of aluminum, magnesium,
high-strength steel, and ultra-high-strength steel.
(Source: Design News)

Cadillac's design effort called on teams of structural engineers, chassis engineers, materials specialists, and mathematicians to create a body structure that would manage loads intelligently. By positioning structural members to be in shear, rather than in bending, the designers made cross-sectional areas of virtually all members smaller. "Putting members in shear is the most efficient way to manage loads," Masch said. "The more you can get those structural members in line with the loads, the more efficient you can make them."


Cadillac engineers augmented the optimized structural load path with materials that further reduced weight. They employed high-strength steel, which offers yield and tensile strengths about four times higher than those of conventional steels. They also used ultra-high-strength steel, which is about four times stronger than high-strength steel. Those materials allowed strategic structural members to be made from thinner gauges.

To further reduce vehicle mass, the engineering team also employed an aluminum hood, aluminum shock towers, an aluminum engine cradle, an aluminum instrument panel beam, and magnesium engine brackets.

Cadillac's 3,400lb ATS will mark the automaker's debut in the compact luxury market.
(Source: Cadillac)

The new car's powertrain and suspension also make extensive use of aluminum. Its cylinder block, cylinder heads, and pistons are made of lightweight cast aluminum. The intake manifold saves about 5.5 pounds, and the exhaust manifold saves about 13 pounds through the use of aluminum. And the engine's connecting rods are made from a powder metal that incorporates a high ratio of copper, thus further cutting weight.

The ATS five-year design effort is notable, not only for its intelligent structural design, but also for Cadillac's ongoing commitment to costly engineering processes while GM struggled with its finances. During that period, Cadillac engineers benchmarked competitors' vehicles, such as the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes C-Class, and Audi A4. They ran clinics in China, Germany, the US, and Great Britain. They visited and rode with owners of those vehicles and learned about the advantages and disadvantages of each. Finally, they built multiple ATS mules to analyze the performance of sub-systems, such as the suspension, and tested them on race tracks.


Cadillac, which displayed the ATS at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit last week, hopes that the lightweight structure will play a role in making the vehicle more controllable. At 3,400 pounds, the car is lighter than or equal to every other car in its compact luxury class, the company's engineers say.

"Light weight is a big part of the formula that will make this car a success," Masch said. "It helps makes the ATS fast, nimble, and fun to drive."

How soon they forget the Catera