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Cadillac ATS was almost front-wheel drive

"We were going to do a front-wheel drive Cadillac compact off of Delta because it was going to be less expensive," Doug Parks, General Motors' vice president of global product programs, told the Automotive News during the Detroit Auto Show in January of this year. That sentence, referring to early ATS discussions more than five years ago - a period when the automaker, and the industry, was struggling - reveals that Cadillac's highly acclaimed rear-wheel drive compact sedan almost never happened.
Parks revealed that that automaker actually built a 2.0-liter test mule, on GM's Delta platform (shared with the Chevrolet Cruze and Buick Verano) and tested it in Europe. While the prototype was "pretty darn good," according to Parks, the team realized that in order to compete against Mercedes-Benz and BMW it would have to invest in a new rear-wheel drive platform.
The resulting all-new Alpha platform would eventually underpin the Cadillac ATS, and many would argue that its balanced rear-wheel drive chassis is its single most important attribute. Thankfully, the Alpha's goodness won't stop with the ATS. The upcoming 2014 Cadillac CTS and the future Camaro will also share its architecture, meaning the Cimarron will remain a distant memory.

Buy a Mosler Twinstar, the V16 Cadillac you almost wanted [w/video]

Cadillac was once famous for opulent, V16 luxury vehicles, but this bizarre 16-cylinder 1999 Eldorado that's for auction on eBay Motors isn't much like its ancestors. Dubbed the TwinStar, this beast features a Northstar V8 with 275 horsepower to drive the front wheels and a second Northstar with 300 hp is in the trunk to spin the rear axle. Each mill has its own four-speed automatic gearbox, and the result is a total of 575 hp of all-wheel drive fury in an incredibly weird package. The TwinStar's interior and exterior certainly don't hide the odd powertrain setup. To fit the engine in the trunk, the builders pushed the rear wheels further back and lengthened the wheelbase. There are also scoops low on each side to funnel air to the V8. Inside, there's a second ignition on the side of the center stack, and a digital instrument cluster replaces the glove box. It's sure to confuse any passenger you can convince to take a ride in this thing. Mosler, the supercar company known for models like the MT900, built five TwinStars, according to the auction. The seller links to the original review by Car and Driver, and the magazine noted that the sensation of the two engines working in tandem was rather odd. However, the TwinStar was a capable performer and ran to 60 in 5 seconds in its test. If you want to start your new year with the oddest vehicle possible, the TwinStar's auction sits at $5,600 with the reserve not met as of this writing, and it ends January 2, 2016, at 8:00 PM ET. If you can't wait that long, the dealer lists the car online for $39,900. There's also a spirited conversation on Bring a Trailer about this automotive oddity.

Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #325 LIVE!

We're set to record Autoblog Podcast #325 tonight, and you can drop us your questions and comments via our Q&A module below. Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven't already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #325
Twin-turbo Cadillac CTS coming