Cadillac ATS was almost based on the Chevy Cruze platform - report

Could have been front-wheel drive to save costs

The Cadillac ATS has proven to be a huge success but a new report is indicating the model came close to being front-wheel drive.

According to Automotive News, Cadillac almost used the Delta platform that underpins the Chevrolet Cruze. The decision was pretty close as work began in 2007 when GM was bleeding cash ahead of their impending bankruptcy.

As GM's vice president of global product programs, Doug Parks, explained "We were going to do a front-wheel drive Cadillac compact off of Delta because it was going to be less expensive." He went on to say that several people were okay with the move because they felt confident that engineers could make the chassis competitive. Parks contends the prototypes were "pretty darn good" but felt "you can't go beat BMW or Mercedes when you don't have the right weight balance and everything else."

Enough executives were swayed and eventually green-lighted the rear-wheel drive Alpha platform that underpins the ATS as well as the new CTS.