UK Channel 4 Reviews Cadillac BLS, Shares The Eurogasm

The chaps at Channel 4 got their hands on a Cadillac BLS, which they call the "first Cadillac to be designed specifically for Europe." This is before admitting that it's a badge re-enginered Saab 9-3/Vauxhall Vectra (a gigantic badge that probably adds 20 pounds to the car). It comes in wagon, which is a first for Cadillac, and will include a bioethanol-compatible 2.0-litre turbo in 2008. Below are some shots from our Frankfurt close-encounter with the EuroCaddy. [4car] More »

Saab, Cadillac to Share SUV Platform, Engine

In another installment of Profiles in Badge Engineering Courage, Saab and Cadillac will share a new SUV platform, a new engine and several pints of What Now? That from the UK's Just-Auto, which assures GM is developing the two vehicles to be "very different and specific." As we reported eons ago, those will be the Saab 9-4x and Cadillac BRX (or thereabouts), built on GM's new Theta Premium platform, created from parts lifted from the current Theta platform (Chevy Equinox) and new Epsilon II (read: updated Saab 9-3, Chevy Malibu, etc.) They'll reach showrooms inside of two years to fight the small luxury SUV fight. [Just-Auto via Motive]

Frankfurt Auto Show: 2008 Cadillac BLS Shows It Has A SexyBack...End

The BLS is everything you could ever love about the Saab 9-3, except without the Swedishness. Yup, this wagon's got it all — as long as by "all" you mean a bio-fuel-powered engine option and "extra powerful" 180 HP / 400 lb-ft o' torque turbo diesel engine. But hey, it's got "LED technology" — we think that means the headlights, but it may mean on the dash. OK, we kid the luxe brand, it's not unattractive as far as wagons go, but if it were brought to our shores, it would demolish any and all brand cachet the Caddy brand's built up with new models like the CTS released here. But we wouldn't put it past the General. Full release after the jump. More »

Cadillac to Show New European Models in Frankfurt

Cadillac's ill satisfied with selling only as many cars in Europe as can be counted on Bob Lutz's hands. It wants a larger chunk of the continent's luxury market. The problem is, Europeans know Cadillac (perhaps better than we do) for cars as long as a Spanish galleon and twice as floaty, not as rebodied Saabs. Still, the company announced (again) it's launching the new BLS wagon, the company's first real station wagon (sorry, SRX, your ground clearance is too high) in Frankfurt. It's a continued push to shore up its European line. Sharing the spotlight will be the midsize 2008 CTS, which will face off against the BMW 5-Series and Mercedes E-Class, likely to expected results at first. The question is, even with its French derivation, does Cadillac have a shot in the land where Teutonic sedan stride like titans athwart the earth? The rough go continues.

Cadillac BLS Wagon Coming To Frankfurt

No more BS on the BLS — the General's luxe brand is saying the BLS wagon will now make its world premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show this September. In addition to the same range of engines as its sedan-bodied BLS-brother, Cadillac will be offering a bio-ethanol-fuel engine for both the sedan and the wagon when the wagon goes on sale in November 2007. Although the General's saying its the first station wagon in Cadillac's 104-year history, we're still trying to determine whether that's accurate. Mostly that's because we're still trying to figure out how the heck to classify the Cadillac SRX. Full press release below the jump. – Ray Wert More »

GM's Midsize Rear-Drivers Due in 2010

Hey kids, it's time to start those drifting lessons. A report from the Line that is anything but external says new rear-drive midsize cars from GM are on the way. General Motors will launch a range of such cars based on its new Alfa platform in late 2010, including the next Pontiac G6, Cadillac BLS and a Saturn to be named later. Alpha uses parts from the Kappa platform that hosts the Pontiac Solstice et al., with a dash of the larger Zeta platform (Pontiac G8) thrown in. Inside Line also reports the new, rear-drive Cadillac BLS may be sold in the US, with a base price in the "high $20,000s." (2003 G6 concept pictured.) – Mike Spinelli More »

Another Half-Cadillac Comes to Europe: The BLS Wagon

Cadillac's unveiled the second reskinned Saab 9-3 model that will grace Cadillac dealerships in Europe, the BLS wagon. Caddy's still trying to convince Europeans, who know Cadillac more for tailfins than for its Art and Science design language of late, that the brand stands for global luxury. The BLS also gets the honor of being the first wagon in Cadillac's history (not counting hearses), considering the ground-clearing SRX is technically a crossover SUV. Is it an appropriate extension of the brand or a symphony of brand destruction? – Mike Spinelli More »

More Power for The Euro Caddy: The BLS Sport

What do you call a Cadillac BLS with 18" rims, lowered suspension and chassis tune dialed in for sport touring? What's a Cadillac BLS? Right, it's that Caddy built by Saab for the European market, and it's been selling in the single digits, so GM's offering a sport model with which it hopes to grab a larger chunk of the European luxury-car market (read: any, please). The BLS Sport won't get a power upgrade, just the same variants of the standard model's choice of turbodiesel, 2.0-liter four turbo (175 hp and 210 hp) and 2.8-liter V6 (255 hp). It's still a weak car in a competitive segment, but, well, that's it. – Mike Spinelli More »

Mini DeVille: Cadillac Eyeing a Run at the BMW 1-Series?

It's no secret GM wants Cadillac to be a global brand, and its plan to do so many say involves aping BMW's moves. Now, AutoWeek claims to have uncovered a secret plan for a rear-wheel-drive, entry-level Cadillac to meet the BMW 1-Series head on in Europe. The model would supplement the brand's front-drive, 3-Series-sized BLS, which debuted on the continent last year, and take on such standard bearers as the Audi A3 and Mercedes A-Class. Of course, launching such a model would involve building a new platform, considering GM doesn't have a small rear-drive architecture to grab off the shelf. Another idea might be to use a shortened version of the Holden-designed Zeta platform, which will make the small Caddy a close cousin to the next Chevrolet Camaro, though Viceroy Bob Lutz told AW that going downward from a large platform is a bad engineering decision. Either way, we'd imagine this may end up being another job for Opel, if it wants it. – Mike Spinelli More »

Over the Back Fence: Cadillac BRX Coming in 2009; BLS to the US

Here's one from the back burner. According to Edmunds Inside Line, Cadillac's plans for the BRX crossover may be even closer than we'd thought. Cadillac's general manager, Jim Taylor said the sub-$30,000 crossover is being considered, and supplier sources indicate the car's coming in mid-2009. Originally thought to be a wagon based on the Epsilon platform, word now is it'll share the Daewoo-developed Opel Antara / Chevrolet Captiva / Saturn Vue small-crossover architecture. Edmunds also reports Cadillac is bringing its rest-of-world small model, the BLS (above), to North America. Hmm, after all that re-branding, Cadillac's downmarket aspirations may be cause for alarm, especially since the company's battle cry should be Remember the Cimarron! More »

Between the Lines: Motor Trend on the Cadillac BLS

Despite the warm hotness that is the CTS-V, the words "Cadillac" and "small" go together like "male porn star" and "small." Cadillac obviously forgot to learn that lesson back in '81, when they released the "Cimarron by Cadillac". The badge-engineered Chevrolet Cavalier — complete with in-line four and four-speed manual — was the smallest, nastiest, most heinously over-priced Cadillac ever produced — followed closely by its replacement, the Catera. (People watching Saturn's decaying orbit should note that the Catera was a rebadged Opel Omega, imported from Germany.) And now, finally, the Cimmaron has a proper suck-cessor: the BLS. It's a Euro-only model, and Motor Trend's de-capitalized paul horrell likes it. More »

Cadillac Planning a Wagon Variant of European BLS by 2007

Cadillac's BLS — the company's first Euro-focused model, which debuted last year in Frankfurt — will get a long-rumored wagon sibling in 2007, according to AutoWeek. A product of Saab's Trollhattan plant in Sweden, the BLS and its planned derivatives (rumored to include an SUV) comprise the cornerstone of Cadillac's plan to expand its European profile to 20,000 units by 2010. The wagon is expected to debut at the 2007 Geneva motor show, if not sooner. More »

Cadillac to Premiere European BLS in Frankfurt

Cadillac's 2007 BLS, its first model built specifically for the global market, will debut in Frankfurt, barely six months after the BLS concept was unveiled at the Geneva motor show. Cadillac's 3-Series competitor will hit European dealerships in mid-2006, powered by a range of engines including a 150hp common-rail diesel, two versions of a 2.0-liter four (175hp and 210hp) and a 2.8-liter six (255hp). Depending on engine type, the BLS will get five- or six-speed manual as well as five- or six-speed automatic transmissions. As for suspension, it's McPherson struts in front and a four-link rear axle. Sound and vision systems will include a high-end Bose system, a DVD nav system with touchscreen and a Bluetooth-enabled cell phone system with a handsfree kit, and remote controls on the steering wheel. Square-jawed, sunglasses'd Euro model is optional. More »