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Why Cadillac thinks it needs to succeed in Europe to sell cars elsewhere

Ward's Auto has taken an interesting look at the renewed focus General Motors is showing towards Cadillac in Europe. Susan Docherty, president and managing director of Chevrolet and Cadillac in Europe (pictured), says in order for the luxury brand to thrive in China, it first needs to succeed in the old country. The reason? Chinese buyers look to Europe for cues as to what's deemed worthy of the term "luxury." There are hurdles to the plan, however. In addition to the fact that the EU is flooded with high-end nameplates, GM doesn't necessarily have the distribution network in place to put buyers behind the wheel.
Combine that with persistent economic woes and Cadillac's checkered past marred by a lack of diesel engine options and a bankrupt distributor, and the road ahead for the brand looks like less of an uphill climb and more like a straight-up cliff face. But Docherty is optimistic and says she has a plan for the brand. We recommend heading over to Ward's for a closer look at the full read.

Ward's reveals annual 10 Best Engines list for 2013

Ward's Auto has released its annual 10 Best Engines award winners. The 2013 list covers the full width and breadth of the internal combustion spectrum, from a spate of efficient four-cylinders to the most powerful production V8 on the planet. As always, the entries must be available in a production vehicle in the first quarter of 2013 with an MSRP of less than $55,000. The supercharged 3.0-liter V6 from the Audi S5 held on for the fourth consecutive year, and BMW earned two spots on the list with its turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder and turbo 3.0-liter inline-six.
Ford pulled in two awards for its 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder and and the supercharged 5.8-liter V8 from the Shelby GT500. Honda matched BMW and Ford with two wins of its own. Wards awarded the 2.4-liter four-cylinder from the Honda Accord Sport as well as the 3.5-liter V6 from the Honda Accord. Chrysler, General Motors and Subaru each garnered a spot on the list as well for the 3.6-liter V6 in the Ram 1500, the turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder in the Cadillac ATS and the 2.0-liter four-cylinder the Subaru BRZ, respectively. You can read the full press release below for more information.

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.