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@tuned2ride
I don't think GM has that engine on hand yet to stuff into the ATS. They did stuff the 3.6 V6 in it already.
@acorradi87
Yes, it seems EPS is here to stay, though it seems as though BMW is starting to get it right. I believe the 5 series was the first to get it, and after having one as a loaner while my E92 was getting serviced I can officially say it was horrendous - the steering was better on an Accord or Camry. However the F30 seems to be much improved, Porsche's first EPS iterations seem to be getting good reviews and the BRZ/FT86 has been getting RAVE reviews with EPS. Here's hoping they can tune it correctly for the next M-series, and integrate those algorithms when they have an LCI.
As for the engines in the ATS, yes they are decent but not world beaters. I'm currently driving a Camaro for a rental, and it has the same 3.6 V6 that the premium ATS gets, and while it's a powerful engine it's also a guzzler - EPA is 17/28, and driving the exact same route and style as I drove my E92 I get roughly 3-4 MPG less when the E92 which is rated at 18/28. It seems like BMW has a pretty big head start on maximizing turbos for fuel efficiency and power ever since the N54 and GM needs to play catch up.
That said, it seems GM only ok'd the R&D budget for suspension, chassis and steering, and surprisingly the Caddy team hit those out of the park. Here's hoping that they can sell more than a few ATS's and get GM to cough up for redoing the transmission and engine, as competition can only help force the hand of BMW to build a better product. Either that or maybe someone like Jag could come out of nowhere, since it seems like there's a building group of enthusiast type drivers who bemoan the dulling of the 3-series.
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