GM is using structural adhesive, which reduces cabin noise, and aluminum, which helps reduce vehicle weight, in its 2014 CTS and its ATS. Image courtesy GM.

GM is using structural adhesive, which reduces cabin noise, and aluminum, which helps reduce vehicle weight, in its 2014 CTS and its ATS. Image courtesy GM.

GM is using structural adhesive, which reduces cabin noise, and aluminum, which helps reduce vehicle weight, in its 2014 CTS and its ATS. Image courtesy GM.

GM is using structural adhesive, which reduces cabin noise, and aluminum, which helps reduce vehicle weight, in its 2014 CTS and its ATS. Image courtesy GM.

General Motors detailed some of the methods it’s using to reduce weight in its 2014 Cadillac CTS and in its ATS model, including greater use of aluminum. The automaker is also using structural adhesive to make the vehicle’s body structure more rigid and reduce noise.

The four doors on the 2014 CTS will be constructed of aluminum, which reduces vehicle weight by 55 lbs., according to GM. The automaker also used aluminum to reduce weight in the 2014 CTS by 13.1 lbs. by replacing the steel bumpers on the current generation CTS with aluminum ones on the 2014 model; by 14 lbs. by making front strut towers of cast aluminum (compared with steel used in the current-generation CTS); by 7.2 lbs. from the instrument panel structure (replacing magnesium); and by 36.5 lbs. by using extruded and cast aluminum for the powertrain cradle. The CTS has a base curb weight of 3,600 lbs.

For the ATS, Cadillac uses aluminum in the powertrain and gave the vehicle an aluminum hood, suspension cradle, and engine cylinder heads. The ATS has a curb weight of 3,315 lbs.

Also on the all-new 2014 CTS, the automaker said it used 387 ft. of structural adhesive, which helps make the vehicle 40-percent stiffer than the previous model (along with the use of high-strength steels). This adhesive also reduces vibration in the vehicle.

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