This article is part of the GM Authority Mailbag series, where the GM Authority Crew features and replies to your questions, comments, and observations.
The following comes to us from Mark A.
Guys,
I love my 2013 Cadillac ATS Sedan (Premium 3.6L). I love how it look and how drives, I like the interior and I get goose bumps when I see those door handles light up at night. But there’s one thing that I totally detest about the car and it drives me up the wall each and every day I drive it. It’s something so simple that it angers me just to think about it.
I’m talking about the rear view mirror on the passenger side of the car. It does not auto-dim for some mysterious reason. The driver’s side mirror and the inside rear-view mirror auto dim at night… so why doesn’t the one on the passenger side?
So when I’m driving at night, the light from the car behind me blinds me into oblivion, with its headlights bouncing from the mirror right into my eyes.
The sad part is that both of the mirrors on my Lexus IS350 and Infiniti G35 were auto-dimming. Hell, auto-dimming rear view mirrors are standard fare on the Chevy Malibu. Why on earth did Cadillac skimp on something so simple and so mundane? Does it really cost too much to have both mirrors auto-dim? Is it really worth it to economize on something that impacts the experience so negatively?
What makes this that much worse is that it’s not even an option on the car (mine is fully loaded)… and it’s not an accessory either. I mean, Cadillac is supposed to be a luxury brand and the ATS is a luxury car. Then, isn’t luxury about convenience and comfort? This is one area where the car totally fails and makes me put Cadillac’s “The New Standard of the World” slogan into question.
Cadillac better offer the auto-dimming passenger-side glass as an accessory, and do it soon… or I’ll be selling my ATS (as much as I would hate to do it) on eBay and getting a BMW 335i, Audi S4, or that new C400. All of those have auto-dimming mirrors.
Regards from New York,
Mark
We couldn’t agree any more with you, Mark.
This is one of those head-scratching decisions that seems a no-brainer to us. And it’s such a shame, because the ATS is a total gem to drive. And for a luxury car, this is one of those features that should be standard across the entire vehicle range, no matter the trim level or options package. But it’s just not there on the ATS, period: not on the Standard, Luxury, Performance, or Premium trim levels. And it’s not an option, either.
So here’s to hoping that someone at GM/Cadillac is listening and not only fixes this for the 2015/2016 ATS, but also offers an auto-dimming passenger side mirror as an accessory for existing owners like yourself.
Existing ATS owners: what do you think of this omission? Sound off in the comments below.
Comments
Blasphemy for Real, What the Hell was they Thinking, Old GM???!!!
“But there’s one thing that I totally detest about the car and it drives me up the wall each and every day I drive it. It’s something so simple that it angers me just to think about it.”
This writer should “Get a life”, if you were driving a car in some countries you would be lucky to even have a mirror. To get so worked up about such an issue, he’s got nothing better to do in life! Try living in Syria for a while, see if you would be concerned about auto dimming mirrors there!
Len, I hear you.. But we don’t live in Syria and the OP probably paid good money for that car.. Whether or not it was earned or inherited, it’s still money that goes toward employing people who build, maintain, and fix that car and all of its parts. I say screw Syria. The only reason it is a shithole is because of its greedy hard headed religious jihad Zealot’s who want to stay in the 17th century. If that’s what they want and teach, then they can all go fuck themselves. Their choice.
Jack thank you for that advice. If someone told me to go fuck myself when I was young I might still be alive. But I was a dumb fuck and blew my self up. Now Jeff has his hand up my ass all the time.
He needs to get a life? Was it your money that purchased his vehicle? Some people have high expectations. By your logic, one should lower them simply because we have it better than some other countries? What an oxymoron statement.
When you drop 40k+ on a vehicle, it should be meet or exceed luxury and quality of it’s competitors. Apparently it falls short of that when it comes to auto dimming rear view mirrors.
I say voice your complaints, needs and concerns to Cadillac’s customer service and by having enough people to complain about it, it would seriously put the omission in consideration. Cadillac may not want to lose their current customers if they are serious about rebuilding their brand.
Regardless if the matter is important or trivial, it is your car and you paid your hard earn dollars for it.
It’s safer, the driver will see the cars on the right side before he turns
FUCK YOU JACK!
ATS great car but lots of little inconveniences. I switched from Bimmer. But for even money I’m going back to BMW next car.
This is one of those options to me that I would really have noticed. I even leave it off on my Malibu RVM as I am just used to not having it.
Now if this was a limited slip diff or something of that nature little things like this are hit or miss.
As for why things like this get left off. It is simply price. To keep the price down often little features like this are sacrificed for things in greater demand.
Here is an example. When the 5 gen Camaro was getting a work up from clinics the people were asked how much they needed the smell of leather in the car. Yes the leather smell is an added thing to the seats and it cost money.
I really do not see this mirror as a make or break deal one way or the other. The fact is how long has the car been out and this is just now the first time we have heard anyone complain. Now think about it as if it was that missed then why did it take so long for this to surface?
In the Future I expect little things like this to be taken care of. That is why Cadillac is holding on the price point. If they cut prices you will miss the little detail things they could or should be offering. If the price point is correct then there is no reason to cut these things.
This is just a fall out of the price war that was going on inside GM over Cadillac.
The bottom line you get what you pay for.
“The bottom line you get what you pay for.”
This is a slippery slope, mate.
Every single ATS competitor, from BMW and Mercedes-Benz to Audi and Lexus, have this as standard. As do Acura, Volvo, Infiniti, etc.
So maybe he should just simply buy one of those cars… is that what you’re advocating, scott?
Also, keep in mind that you probably make up the greater minority here. The fact that you don’t use it or don’t appreciate not having light blinding you at night does not mean that everyone else does not appreciate it either.
IT is the little things like this that can make or break a customers decision to stay with the brand . The ” you get what you pay for ” is an ignorant comment ! The person said it was loaded with options , so I bet he paid a pretty penny for it . It is typical for GM to cut costs were they think it won’t be noticed . I bet there are others out there that feel the way this person does but doesn’t have a forum to discuss it . The statement was uncalled for .
And as far as Syria goes , it a $hit hole and everyone knows it . Hopefully an armed drone will come knocking on Assads door with a patriot missile and rid our plannet of this cruel dictator .
So Jihad vent your anger somewhere else . This is a forum for car nuts like me not murderers like you !
I have to agree with scott3 but then I also have to say sometimes it’s about the details and too many times GM gets it wrong. There are so many good choices amongst the GM stable but inevitably a lot are like this because the bean counters deemed it so. They really need to step it up a bit when it comes to feature/trim level IMO. I have to say though I’ve noticed it over at Ford as well.
I think it will be pointless to complain from here now. I think the new leadership will make sure the details are taken care of in the future product.
While some decry the higher prices they tend to forget that Cadillac will be moving to things like their own engines and other details that will set them apart, None of this is cheap but will make a difference in how their product is perceived.
If they are willing to take on the engine issue I am sure the little things like this mirror will be taken care of in time. The new manager really has not had time to address much in the present products.
So stop complaining about price and just see what you will get for your money once the new manager products arrive. You can’t lower the present price than goose it back up. With the added changes it will delay some of turn around but it will make a big difference in the end results.
Future product is in the future and is all fine and dandy. Guys like Mark and myself want a solution to our CURRENT vehicles.
Mine is an ATS Performance that retailed at $45,000. No auto-dimming passenger mirror either. No ATS has one, as far as I know. Get what you pay for? Really? $45K doesn’t get me an auto-dimming mirror in a luxury car? Get real.
GM’s new leadership keeps saying that the customer journey doesn’t end with the purchase… why not put their words into actions and make an accessory dimming mirror available for current owners like myself? I would be more than happy to pay $150 for it. But whether I buy another ATS or Cadillac entirely will depend on how Cadillac addresses this for me and my current car. Not something that they will try to sell me in the future.
Ok lets loo at something.
Cadillac did not get to GM till just a few months ago, Correct?
As for the mirror issue few people even heard about it till now.
Then on top of that just how many of the owners really are complaining and would even buy the mirror?
Right now worrying about a hand full of owners and I do mean handful over this mirror is small in comparison to the many other issues and needs Cadillac has. At this point they only have so much time, money and man power.
A project like this if started today would take about a year min to get done. From the time they design it, test it and them ok the design then hand it off to the MFG than then get it to the dealer I would be shocked if it made it in less than two years.
I m sure details like this will be addressed in the future. They may even include it in the ATS by 2 model years from now and then you can retro fit one then.
But on the other hand to spend $45K for a car and then turn around and claim a diming mirror is missing and is such an important option that you would not buy again. My question is if it were so important why did you buy in the first place? If it was that important did you not do the home work to find out it was not an option.
Hell I just spent more time researching my new 60″ TV than you did on your car?
I am not trying to bust your A$$ on this but the fact is you missed this option when you bought shame on you. I agree GM should have included it to start shame on them. Both of you just need to correct your actions in the future. As I said they may correct this in a year or two if they do not have a new design ready and you can retro fit it then.
Sorry in the big picture this option is not normally a make or break option for most buyers. If it was and you missed it then it must not have been very important at the time you bought the car either.
Either way Cadillac’s future is not hinged upon if they offer a dimming retro fit mirror, With you maybe but not with most buyers.
Anyways I would let Johan get in and start doing some work as he has not been there long enough to many any immediate changes. They will come in the coming year as he changes their direction to a more aggressive path.
Hell Cadillac needs to fix their marketing long before they worry about this mirror. The ratio of people missing the mirror they missed at purchase is much smaller than the sales they lose to people that hate their where’s Waldo marketing.
There is a hell of a lot of work that remains done and this mirror is only one of the detail things they need to address.
This isn’t a time/money/manpower issue. My 2007 Chevy truck has auto-dimming mirrors. Nobody needed to invent the damn things. Its just someone being lazy and/or cheap. All cars have four wheels and will drag your butt around. And Cadillac has a lot of competition. To market their cars the details are what will matter. “Fixing” the marketing doesn’t mean anything if they don’t have something to market.
I’ve given this some more thought.
Scott, your comments border on poor business practices, if not stupidity. Let’s have a look.
“As for the mirror issue few people even heard about it till now.”
So what? Does Cadillac want it to become something that many have heard about? The devil is in the details, especially in the luxury segment.
“Then on top of that just how many of the owners really are complaining and would even buy the mirror?”
Again, it’s the little things. This is one of those things that is simply expected in a vehicle in this class.
“Right now worrying about a hand full of owners and I do mean handful over this mirror is small in comparison to the many other issues and needs Cadillac has. At this point they only have so much time, money and man power.”
It’s a small and quick thing to address. No one has to “worry” about anything, and the whole thing would take no more than a change in the order of a part (the mirror) from the supplier. A phone call, some emails signing some changes to a contract… nothing more than that.
“A project like this if started today would take about a year min to get done. From the time they design it, test it and them ok the design then hand it off to the MFG than then get it to the dealer I would be shocked if it made it in less than two years.”
A year? Where did you come up with that? Because that amount of time is inaccurate, showing that you are either mis-informed or uneducated in the manner of vehicle development or project management. A “project” like this would take no more than a week from a staff of one, with a signature from the program manager.
We are talking about applying the same exact technology (adaptive film) that’s already in the driver-side mirror, to the passenger-side mirror. A year? Puh-lease.
“But on the other hand to spend $45K for a car and then turn around and claim a diming mirror is missing and is such an important option that you would not buy again. My question is if it were so important why did you buy in the first place? If it was that important did you not do the home work to find out it was not an option.”
Because in this class, buyers expect things like this to be STANDARD.
It’s like buying an ATS and finding out that the car has manually-adjustable mirrors. Would that seem normal to you? No.
“Hell I just spent more time researching my new 60″ TV than you did on your car? I am not trying to bust your A$$ on this but the fact is you missed this option when you bought shame on you. I agree GM should have included it to start shame on them. Both of you just need to correct your actions in the future. As I said they may correct this in a year or two if they do not have a new design ready and you can retro fit it then.”
A stupid example. Did you research if the remote to your new TV has a power button that turns it on or off? How about a receiver inside the TV that’s capable of accepting a TV feed from the wall.
I am certain that you did not check those things, even though they were important to you. The same goes for the 99.9% of other consumers who bought the same TV. Why didn’t you check them? Because you expect them to be standard. Especially if it’s a TV from a tier1 brand like Sony or Sharp.
“Sorry in the big picture this option is not normally a make or break option for most buyers. If it was and you missed it then it must not have been very important at the time you bought the car either.”
Again, a dumb point. Things like this don’t need to be checked for. They should be standard. Everyone else makes them standard. Why not Cadillac?
“Either way Cadillac’s future is not hinged upon if they offer a dimming retro fit mirror, With you maybe but not with most buyers.”
Yes, Cadillac’s future does not depend (let’s learn some English here) on offering a retrofit to the mirror. So they lose one (or more?) customer(s) because of this.
Then they lose another customer because they don’t offer a CTS Coupe, have no wagon in the lineup at all, and have a shitty, lackluster crossover (the SRX).
So, one customer here, one customer there… soon enough, there won’t be any customers left, my friend.
“Hell Cadillac needs to fix their marketing long before they worry about this mirror. The ratio of people missing the mirror they missed at purchase is much smaller than the sales they lose to people that hate their where’s Waldo marketing.”
You must have never worked in a multi-faceted organization with various departments. Because in this case, this has nothing to do with marketing, which can be addressed separately from this mirror issue.
So in summary, your points are completely off base, especially for a luxury car and luxury car buyers. I’d understand if we were talking about a $14,000 Sonic/Aveo here. But this is Cadillac we’re talking about. And it’s disappointing that that we are even having this conversation.
Isn’t the srx, i know its at least selling better than the cts (also no passenger side auto dimming mirror) and ats the best selling vehicle in their lineup, they cut the wagon cause not enough people were buying it because sadly the majority of America doesn’t like them (I do), and because they can make more money on the sedan by dropping those options, as for the auto dimming mirror, it should be fixed, will they? I doubt it, because not only is it a matter of sending it an email to the right people, but the new one would have to be dot approved, and who knows, maybe it’s some bisarre deal like the old neons (not making a comparison) where none of them had power windows in the back seats, for simple lack of room for a power motor, I doubt it simply because it’s just a mirror, but who knows, it probably was just cost cutters at gm, however thanks to them, there are now all these people getting rid of practically new cars, they I can now get for a below new price because they didn’t like not having such a minor inconvenience that wouldn’t bother me one bit, and for that I thank you
Its not just the ATS. My 2nd gen CTS is fully loaded and doesn’t have auto dimming mirrors on either side! I didn’t even ASK about it when I was researching it because I thought it was just a given- heck the truck I had before AND my 2010 Chevy Camaro that I traded in for the CTS both had auto dimming mirrors, and those are both “below” the CTS. Seems silly as heck. My wife’s 2006 BMW 3 series has auto dimming mirrors for goodness sakes, as did my 2001 Mercedes SLK 320.
My solution? I tinted the windows. I didn’t even want tinted windows, but I did it just because of those mirrors. When you have something like autodimming mirrors for the last 10 years on every car you owned, its difficult to “lose” it.
There are different types of tinted windows, but I got the heat reflecting type (not “reflective”- just black, but they reflect heat?). They allow 70% of the light, so they are 100% legal and you barely notice they are tinted (AKA- you can see at night fine), but they absorb 30% and reflect 25% of the mirror light, so that they aren’t blinding.
Not a perfect solution, but it is what it is.
There is really no excuse for the ATS not having auto-dimming mirrors, at the very least as an option (or “standard” on the up-level trims). My Chevy truck has them for God’s sake, and its eight years old. The ATS is a damn Cadillac. And its 2014. The mirrors should dim. The seats and steering wheel should be heated (and the outside mirrors), and the seats should be cooled. MAYBE not on a base trim 2.0T with a 6-speed with a track package or whatever, but even that’s a stretch. Would you put up with hand cranked windows nowadays? This should be basic stuff in 2014. Another annoyance is the lack of magnetic ride with all-wheel drive (although I believe the CTS at least has that option). These are dumb omissions.
Just goes to show ya Chevrolet the standard of the world!
Looking for automatic dimming rear view mirrors to reduce the glare from trailing vehicles? Try the frameless DPS electrochromic automatic dimming mirror. It comes with onstar and homelink. https://dpsdealers.com/category/auto-dimming-mirrors.
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