Report: Cadillac ATS could be offered as rear-wheel-drive hybrid

Last week we heard some pretty wild rumors about General Motors’ rear-wheel-drive plans including a rumor that said GM would drop the new and popular Cadillac CTS Coupe and Sport Wagon. The rumor also suggested that GM”s Alpha platform will replace the Sigma platform currently under the Cadillac CTS sedan in 2012. The Alpha platform will also underpin the upcoming Cadillac ATS, the brand’s upcoming 3-Series competitor.

This morning we have some additional details on the upcoming ATS and this time it’s from GM’s vice chairman of global product operations, Tom Stephens. Stephens says that GM’s two-mode hybrid powertrain, which is currently used only in trucks, will migrate to rear-wheel-drive cars in the next-generation.

He says that he expects GM’s next-generation two-mode hybrid system to be offered on the Cadillac ATS.  The next-generation CTS will also offer the next-generation hybrid system.

GM said last month that it is working on an electric-motor that is 25 percent smaller and 20 percent more powerful than the current one currently used in its two-mode hybrid trucks.

– By: Kap Shah

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)