Cadillac BLS

Cadillac BLS

Manufacturer	General Motors and Avtotor
Production	2005–2009 Sweden 2009–2010 in Russia
Assembly	Trollhättan, Sweden Kaliningrad, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia/
Successor	Cadillac ATS
Class	Compact executive car
Body style	4-door sedan 4-door station wagon
Layout	FF layout
Platform	GM Epsilon platform
Engine	1.9 L Fiat turbodiesel I4 2.0 L turbocharged Ecotec I4 2.8 L HFV6 V6
Transmission	5-speed automatic 6-speed automatic 5-speed manual 6-speed manual
Wheelbase	2,680 mm
Length	4,680 mm (184.3 in) 4,716 mm (185.7 in) (Wagon)
Width	1,750 mm (68.9 in) 1,752 mm (69.0 in) (Wagon)
Height	1,470 mm (57.9 in) 1,543 mm (60.7 in) (Wagon)
Related	Fiat Croma Chevrolet Malibu Opel Insignia Opel Signum Opel Vectra Saab 9-3 Saturn Aura

The Cadillac BLS is a compact executive car marketed in Europe by Cadillac, a division of General Motors. Based on GM's Epsilon architecture, the BLS is a heavily restyled version of the Saab 9-3. The development was done by Saab and cost more than one billion kronor (approximately $140 million) to design. GM never directly paid Saab for these development costs, despite the facts that it was GM who would benefit from the sales of the vehicle and Saab had produced it. However, General Motors did provide Saab Automobile with many other resources, both financially and materially: Because of GM, Saab now owns "highly modern and profoundly effective manufacturing and development facilities," that were created under General Motors' ownership of the company. It was manufactured in Trollhättan, Sweden, alongside the Saab 9-3 and the Saab 9-5. Sales of the sedan began in March 2006, with a station wagon joining the line for 2007. The BLS was introduced to the Arabian, Mexican, South African, and South Korean markets for the 2007 model year.

Frequently lambasted by critics, with some sarcastically claiming that "BLS" stood for "Bob Lutz Special",^{[citation needed]}, the BLS sold extremely poorly; In 2007, Cadillac produced 2,772 cars at the Trollhättan factory, with 282 sold in Germany, a market with total annual sales of 3.15 million. Production figures for 2007 are down from 3,257 in 2006.

BLS Sedan

BLS station wagon

Features

The BLS is available with a diesel engine (a 1.9 L turbocharged four-cylinder) and two petrol engines (a 2.8 L turbocharged V6 and a 2.0 L available with two power levels).

At 184.3 in (4,681 mm) in overall length, the BLS is almost six inches shorter than the CTS, the smallest Cadillac available in North America.

Engines:

• 1.9 L Fiat turbodiesel I4 16v, 150 hp (110 kW)
• 1.9 L Fiat turbodiesel I4 16v, 180 hp (132 kW) (2007-)
• 2.0 L Ecotec I4, mid-pressure turbo, 175 hp (129 kW)
• 2.0 L Ecotec I4, high-pressure turbo, 210 hp (154 kW)
• 2.0 T FlexPower 200 hp (147 kW)
• 2.8 L HFV6 V6, turbo, 250 hp (184 kW)
• 2.8 L HFV6 V6, turbo, 276 hp (206 kW) (2008 BLS 4 (AWD) version)
• 2.8 L HFV6 V6, turbo, 320 hp (239 kW) (2008 BLS-V (AWD) version)

Future

Production of the BLS ended in summer 2009, following low sales. In August 2009, at its extended product review, GM confirmed a new entry-level sedan to succeed the BLS. The name "ATS" has been used on many news/blog sites to refer to the new vehicle, but the name has not been confirmed by GM. It has also neither announced an availability date nor specified if it would be sold in Europe. In his speech at the event, GM CEO Fritz Henderson suggested the car would offer both all-wheel and rear-wheel drive, a departure from the BLS.

Television

The BLS was featured in an episode of Top Gear in which Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond drove one on the way to present a local radio show. Richard insisted that it was a good car while James bashed it saying that it was useless and couldn't replace German executive cars like the Audi A4 or BMW 3 Series, in his opinion. He most frequently brought up the fact that it was a "badge engineered" Saab 9-3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRhdU94lXas^{[citation needed]}

External links

• official UK website
• Parker's BLS Review
• Cadillac BLS Yahoo Cars Overview
• WhatCar.Com BLS Review
• Car and Driver Article on BLS Debut
• Auto Express Review BLS 2.0T
• VerdictOnCars.com Review