In recent years, Cadillac has been desperately trying to distance itself from its floaty, boat-like heritage and embrace a more refined, sportier new image. Aside from having powerful motors, manual gearboxes, and rear-wheel drive, Cadillac has also added a whole host of new technologies to its cars – both inside and out.
While some deride the Cadillac Cue infotainment system, none can question the significance of its safety tech, of which there is plenty on offer. Cadillac recently sent out a press release detailing all the new safety features in its 2013 ATS sport sedan and we thought it sporting to detail them for you.
Just because the ATS might not appeal to grandpa anymore, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t assist in parking and the rest of the daily commute grind. While some of the new safety tech on the ATS can be found elsewhere in the market, one feature stands out from the rest: Rear Cross Traffic Alert.
Rear Cross Traffic Alert scans areas around the car, effectively extending the driver’s field of view. The system is ideal for backing out of a parking spot, sandwiched between two Suburbans. Should the system detect an oncoming vehicle out of visual sight of the driver, the system will vibrate the driver’s seat on the appropriate side.
Should the driver find his or herself parking on an incline, the ATS will assist in that task, too. With Automatic Front and Rear Braking, the car will apply the emergency brake so that the ATS doesn’t accidentally roll into another car, should it detect a vehicle within close proximity. Automatic Front and Rear Braking doesn’t just work during parking: In heavy traffic situations, at a stoplight, or on a steep hill for instance, the system will perform exactly the same.
The ATS also includes Adaptive Cruise Control, which will bring the vehicle to a complete stop and back up to the set cruising speed along with the flow of traffic. The ATS will also alert drivers of an impending collision with Forward Collision Alert, which will flash warnings on the dash and also vibrate the driver seat. Lastly, the ATS also features a Rear Vision Camera with Dynamic Guidelines to further assist in parallel parking.
