Take the concept of brand, for example. Companies use it to lead the public to associate their image to certain values, which can refer to reliability, distinction or affordability. But when it actually reaches them, they start to associate other values by their own, resulting on the company being known better for these than the intended ones. Such effect tends to happen easier at the luxury market, (people start buying these products in order to "look rich") but it isn't hard to find exceptions. When it comes to cars, it's possible to pinpoint another effect that became very important in the past few years. People started to want their cars to look like something, rather than actually being whatever it is.
If these descriptions made you feel some déjà vu but you can't figure out the exact reason, here's a nice guess: crossovers. Some of them can't even receive the necessary equipments, like strong engines or AWD system, but their buyers don't care. Most wouldn't use them anyway, and there are always those who settle with making other people believe on what they’re pretending to be, like being trendy with a Range Rover Evoque or masculine with a Ford F-150 – they’re using cars as their personal brands, go figure. Sporty versions of high-selling models work in a similar way simply for being what they are. VW Polo GTI’s buyers, for instance, would love to be seen as sports-car enthusiasts. But none of them care about it enough as to leave the comforts of a family car. Such complex-minded public is what Cadillac now looks for with this article’s car.
It brings everything seen on the regular ATS that was possible to fit into a coupé body, whether it’s good or bad. The bad part would be losing the opportunity to create a truly attractive sports car, like what Lexus done with RC. ATS doesn’t share even the front sheetmetal with the sedan, but the images prove that GM may have been too cautious. Nevertheless, the car still looks very nice, dedicating its 183.6-ft length to deliver its company’s design language in a fancier package than the hybrid brother ELR’s. Besides, this will be CTS Coupé’s successor, because it was already announced that CTS’s current generation will only have the sedan. There isn’t much information about the interior yet, but it’s expected to repeat the level of differentiation from the sedan seen outside – it’ll look like a two-door ATS even more.
Where all that sharing gets very interesting is the mechanic part: this car brings Brembo front brakes as standard and sport suspension as optional, the latter meaning limited-slip differential and magnetic ride control. Other equipments must be offered pretty much the same way as the sedan’s, but the coupé adds the feature of a special audio system, capable of changing its volume in order to amplify the engine’s “music”. Speaking of which, the standard propeller will be a direct-injected, turbocharged 2.0L four-cylinder that reaches 272 hp and 295 lb-ft. The other option will be a 3.6L V6 with 321 hp and 275 lb-ft. Both will use a six-speed automatic gearbox, but the smaller unit will have a six-speed manual as standard. Rear-wheel-drive will be standard for both, but there’s an AWD system as optional.