The first series production 2013 Cadillac ATS rolled off the assembly line Thursday morning at General Motors' Lansing Grand River assembly plant in Michigan, which also builds the CTS Sedan, Wagon and Coupe and V-Series performance models.
In order for GM to be able to manufacture the ATS, the plant underwent a $190 million upgrade and a second shift was added, with the company claiming that 600 jobs were either created or retained lifting the total headcount to 1,643 salaried and hourly employees.
"This is a car with a big mission, and it’s been comprehensively prepared for that mission," said Don Butler, vice president of Cadillac Marketing, evidently referring to the positioning of the ATS in the lucrative, but difficult to break into, premium compact saloon category with rivals such as the BMW 3-Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Lexus IS and Audi A4.
