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Cadillac toned down ATS Coupe design due to customer feedback [w/poll]

Automakers always face a difficult decision when it comes to styling their cars. Design them too blandly and nobody will get excited about them. But style them too aggressively and they'll often end up turning off potential buyers.
Cadillac, for its part, is no stranger to aggressive design, but when it came to the new ATS Coupe, it elected to tone things down a bit. Speaking with The Detroit News in a wide-ranging interview, Cadillac design director Bob Boniface revealed that the original design for its compact coupe was edgier - closer to that of the CTS Coupe - with a wedgier profile, a more steeply raked beltline and a more severe grille. But potential customers surveyed in clinics apparently didn't like it. They found it looked heavy, inefficient and not fun to drive. So Boniface and his team literally went back to the drawing board and "took as much visual mass out of the car as [they] could." The resulting coupe, while handsome, looks far more similar to its four-door companion than did Cadillac's CTS.
What do you think, does the new ATS Coupe look just right, or is it too conservative? Voice your opinion in our quick online poll.

General Motors posts record earnings, but global sales fall

General Motors started the year with record success. The automaker's $2.7 billion in adjusted earnings before interest and taxes was its highest ever in in the first quarter of 2016, up from $2.1 billion in from the same time period a year earlier. Net income grew to $1.95 billion, which was more than double the $953 million in the same period last year. The company's figures also beat analysts' predictions, according to the Detroit Free Press. Despite the financial growth, global sales actually decreased by 2.5 percent to 2.36 million vehicles. "We're growing where it counts, gaining retail share in the US, outpacing the industry in Europe and capitalizing on robust growth in SUV and luxury segments in China," CEO Mary Barra said in the company's financial announcement. GM did well in North America with an adjusted EBIT of $2.3 billion, up from $2.2 billion last year. Sales in the region also grew 1.2 percent to 800,000 vehicles. According to The Detroit Free Press, the company has been especially successful at selling more expensive models in the US. The company's average vehicle was $34,600 in Q1, about $3,000 more than the industry average. Elsewhere in the world, GM also showed improvement. Europe practically broke even after losing about $200 million last year, and Opel and Vauxhall sales grew 8.4 percent to more than 300,000 vehicles for the quarter. South America only lost $100 million, which was half as much as Q1 2015's $200 million loss. China remained flat at $500 million of income. Cadillac volume jumped 6.1 percent there, and Buick's deliveries increased 22 percent, thanks to the Envision crossover's success. GM Reports First-Quarter Net Income of $2.0 Billion 2016-04-21 EPS diluted of $1.24; First-quarter record EPS diluted-adjusted of $1.26 First-quarter record EBIT-adjusted of $2.7 billion GM Europe posts break-even performance DETROIT – General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) today announced first-quarter net income to common stockholders of $2.0 billion or $1.24 per diluted share, compared to $0.9 billion or $0.56 per diluted share a year ago. Earnings per share diluted-adjusted for special items was a first-quarter record at $1.26, up 47 percent compared to the first quarter of 2015. The company set first-quarter records for earnings and margin, with earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) adjusted of $2.7 billion and EBIT-adjusted margin of 7.1 percent.

Cadillac prepares to top its own 'Ring record with upcoming new CTS-V

It was a big deal back in 2008 when the original Cadillac CTS-V clocked a lap time of 7:59 at the Nürburgring, making it the fastest sedan ever to lap the Nordschleife to that date. Not many four-doors have bested that time since - the list consisting pretty much only of the Porsche Panamera Turbo - but now hot hatches are lapping faster than that, so you can bet that the new one will manage an even better time.
Now we've spotted the upcoming new CTS-based performance sedan several times before undergoing testing in locations around the world, but this is the first time we've seen it at the Nürburgring, apparently using the Goodyear Dunlop test facility as its base of operations (and still wearing Michigan manufacturer plates, incidentally). Considering how well the outgoing CTS-V performed and how much further you can bet Cadillac will push the envelop this time around, a new sedan lap record is almost a certainty - and we can only hope for an all-out war between Europe's performance sedan power houses to ensue.