The 2013 Cadillac ATS was revealed Sunday evening

With the 2013 Cadillac ATS, General Motors hopes to create an American definition of compact luxury. Light and luxurious, powerful and fuel-efficient, Cadillac aimed the ATS at buyers of the BMW 3 series and the world's best compact sport sedans. The car's sales launch this summer will mark Cadillac's first foray since the 1980s into compact cars, which have the most sales of any luxury segment. "We intend for it to be not just a compelling new challenger, but rather a winner. Anyone who knows me and works with me knows I hate the word 'competitive,'" said Mark Reuss, president of GM North America, in unveiling the car Sunday night, on the eve of the Detroit auto show. "We will win with this car once again. ... For the first time, we've got something no one else has." Smaller than Cadillac's CTS sedan, the ATS was developed in GM's Warren Tech Center. It features a curb weight below 3,400 pounds -- lighter than the Audi A4, Infiniti G25, Mercedes C250 and Lexus IS 250 -- and a near-perfect 51/49 front/rear weight distribution. Short overhangs and a wide track give the ATS a firmly planted stance, while its vertical head and taillights are consistent with the rest of Cadillac's lineup. Still, the car's exterior styling is more universally appealing than the angular CTS, Reuss told the Free Press ahead of the ATS debut. "This is a very definitive, American, performance luxury car, period. As opposed to an American copy of a German performance luxury sedan," Reuss said. "We copied no one." Power comes from three engine choices: a 200-hp 2.5-liter four-cylinder, 270-horsepower turbocharged 2.0-liter engine or 318-hp 3.5-liter V6. Six-speed manual and automatic transmissions and all-wheel-drive are available. The most fuel efficient model will get more than 30 m.p.g. on the highway. On a race track, the ATS can perform within seconds of its competitors' more powerful engines, said Reuss, who drove the car on Germany's Nurburgring in October. By then, the car was in such good shape "it was like honing a really good knife," Reuss said. "The vehicle dynamics are so good and so predictable; you can drive this car harder to the edge than you can some of the other competition. That means you can get more speed coming in and out of a turn," he said. "When you input your steering and you get a response from the car, it will be more direct and more intuitive than the cars in this class." GM plans to price the ATS "at the competition," Reuss said. BMW's new 3 series sedan, which debuts today at the North American International Auto Show, will start at $35,795, including destination charges. Will that mean GM has to raise the price of the CTS? "This one, or the next one?" Reuss said coyly. The ATS faces a challenge in in the luxury compact segment. For example, BMW sold 93,000 of its outgoing 3 series last year in the U.S. -- 23,000 more than U.S. sales of Cadillac's entire car lineup combined, according to Autodata. On Sunday, Reuss said he didn't know whether the ATS would ever overtake the 3 series. "What we can do is put a car out there that's better," he said. GM plans to sell the ATS in the U.S. and then in China. The automaker doesn't plan to sell the car in Europe "immediately," CEO Dan Akerson said. Reuss said GM is waiting to see how much excitement the car generated in Europe before it launches the car there. The ATS will the option of a diesel version in Europe. The ATS carries Cadillac's CUE touch screen with voice-recognition software, connectivity, navigation and other controls. Available features include Bose audio, adaptive cruise control, magnetic ride control suspension, blind spot and lane departure alerts and up to 10 air bags. Other ATS models, possibly including a coupe, station wagon and convertible, are expected to follow the sedan. Cadillac will build the ATS alongside the CTS family in Lansing. Since compact cars are luxury best-sellers, ATS may steal some sales from CTS, a trade-off Reuss can accept. "You've got to look at this by brand," he said. "We're happy to sell Cadillacs to anybody who's got money."