RR's 2014 ATS 6spd 2.0T

[jerrychoochoo]

Looking good man!

“More than you can afford pal, Cadillac.”

 

[RedRyder]

Hmm...doesn't have quite the same ring to it. haha thanks.

 

[RedRyder]

Who says Europe has all the castles?


20190710_171431_r by C B, on Flickr

20190710_171702 by C B, on Flickr

20190710_204613 by C B, on Flickr

 

[RedRyder]

An owner in Germany helped me track down the reverse light housing with the rear fog. I like the placement of this on the car, kind of like the one on an F1 car.

s-l1600 (4) by C B, on Flickr

6E83EDD2-9983-4B52-99D9-0C405DD0338B_1552139868995 by C B, on Flickr

 

[Sketch o5]

that oem rear fog will look cool. same placement as on my car as well haha. i liked it on my frs, but i still need to install it on the 86, i've just been lazy

 

[RedRyder]

that oem rear fog will look cool. same placement as on my car as well haha. i liked it on my frs, but i still need to install it on the 86, i've just been lazy

Oh yeah, the ones on the 86/BRZ are sweet looking. Jon has a pretty cool one on his FRS.

I haven't seen any updates on your 86 in a while.

 

[Sketch o5]

yeah, his goes real well with his tail lights too. the triangle on my 86 will be even more obnoxious because my tail lights have been reduced to a thin strip now, rather than the circles they were on the frs. i don't think it'll be too bad though, but at least i don't have to drive behind me

no updates because nothing new i don't want to do much else with it other than sway bars, but not going to get them just yet haha. it's nearly paid off and any extra money i've had has just gone towards payments, so holding the title is the next mod

 

[RedRyder]

No car payment is the best mod of all haha. I can focus on that more now that I am happy with the car cosmetically, think now I will just drive it and enjoy it. Plus the Accord needs some attention.

 

[talontsiawd]

Wow, good choice. I have been off the board for so long, my Accord used to get about 10 miles per week once I moved to a city so I kind of got of the board due to that, and divorce, etc. I really was interested in one of these when I saw one in person, then found they came in manual. I have an S2000 I bought from my father for like nothing, which I am debating to keep or not, super sound mechanically (only serviced by Honda) but needs a top and new paint on one side (original paint failed, was in one accident and new paint looks brand new). I was looking into an ATS or a TSX wagon, both I want in white, not sure about the manual (depending on if I keep the S2k). Or the V6 6spd TSX. Just wondering how you like it, it looks amazing and I just like the eyeball on this, and you did well with it. Love it.

 

[RedRyder]

Wow, good choice. I have been off the board for so long, my Accord used to get about 10 miles per week once I moved to a city so I kind of got of the board due to that, and divorce, etc. I really was interested in one of these when I saw one in person, then found they came in manual. I have an S2000 I bought from my father for like nothing, which I am debating to keep or not, super sound mechanically (only serviced by Honda) but needs a top and new paint on one side (original paint failed, was in one accident and new paint looks brand new). I was looking into an ATS or a TSX wagon, both I want in white, not sure about the manual (depending on if I keep the S2k). Or the V6 6spd TSX. Just wondering how you like it, it looks amazing and I just like the eyeball on this, and you did well with it. Love it.

Hey man, been a while. Wow that's a great way to get your hands on a car like an S2K, where you know it's been taken care of. I can understand the situation you're in with it though. TSX wagons are cool, there is a white one at the Cars & Coffee I go to. I didn't know there was a V6 6spd TSX? Did you mean TL maybe?

Thanks for the kind words! I wanted a manual RWD sport sedan, which limits choices if you don't want German. I desired something with factory pedigree too, wasn't interested in heavily modifying a car again. Surprisingly, GM benchmarked the E46 3-Series to develop the chassis and handling dynamics for the ATS, and I guess that really attracted me to it because I've always loved those. I've never been a 4cyl guy but I thought I might be okay with it since it at least had a turbo. Manual was a huge selling point for me. I also saw many reviews saying the handling and steering were top notch, this made me realize how the Cadillac brand has really changed which excited me.

So far I love the car, it's fun to to drive and not hard to work on. Many cosmetic goodies from the ATS-V bolt on, and you can fit 5x114.3 wheels. I've had it 2+ years and I still get excited to get in and out of it. I have put almost 20,000 miles on it and it's only needed oil changes. Only issue I've had is the little finger grab for adjusting the driver side air vent came off haha. Couple things took some getting used to like having torque down low and reverse being in a different place, as well as good habits to get into for driving a turbo car.

If you like the 2013-2014 body style more than 2015+ I recommend getting one with a later build date due to early 2.0T models having a possibility for piston issues. But these are high volume cars and there are many more out there including 2013's with no issues at all, so it's all relative and shouldn't be an issue of the car has been taken care of. The only other common issue is the CUE screen delaminating, a class action lawsuit is currently being built against GM for this obvious and widespread flaw. Luckily you can buy screens for $100 or less and replace it yourself. I would also recommend getting the Performance or Premium trim so you get the front LED "waterfall" signature DRL lights and other nice features.