Cadillac BLS

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cadillac BLS
Cadillac BLS
Manufacturer General Motors
Production 2006—present
Assembly Trollhättan, Sweden
Class Compact executive car
Body style(s) 4-door sedan
4-door station wagon
Layout FF layout
Platform GM Epsilon platform
Engine(s) 1.9 L Fiat turbodiesel I4
2.0 L turbocharged Ecotec I4
2.8 L HFV6 V6
Length 4680 mm (184.3 in)
4716 mm (185.7 in) (Wagon)
Width 1750 mm (68.9 in)
1752 mm (69 in) (Wagon)
Height 1470 mm (57.9 in)
1543 mm (60.7 in) (Wagon)
Related Alfa Romeo 159
Fiat Croma
Saab 9-3
Chevrolet Malibu
Opel Vectra

The Cadillac BLS is a compact executive car designed specifically for the European market by the Cadillac marque of General Motors. The car is based on GM's Epsilon architecture and is built in the same plant in Trollhättan, Sweden, that builds the Saab 9-3 and the Saab 9-5. Sales began on March 2006, with a station wagon joining the line for 2007. Though originally designed for the European market, the BLS was introduced to the Arabian, Mexican, South African, and South Korean markets for the 2007 model year. The car has so far not been a huge success, however. For instance, in 2007, Cadillac sold a total of 282 cars on the German market (in a market totalling 3.15 million annual sales)[1], and in 2006, just 3,257 cars left the factory in Sweden, followed by 2,772 in 2007[2].

Contents

[edit] Features

A range of engines are available in the BLS: one diesel engine, a 1.9 L turbocharged four-cylinder, and two petrol (gas) engines, a 2.8 L turbocharged V6, and a 2.0 L available with two power levels.

At 184.3 in (4681 mm) in overall length, the BLS is almost six inches shorter than the CTS, the smallest Cadillac available in North America.

Engines:

[edit] Second generation

In 2005, General Motors vice chairman, Robert Lutz, announced that a second generation BLS would be sold worldwide starting in 2010. It will be built alongside the next generation Saab 9-3 in Rüsselsheim, Germany, and will be produced in Lordstown, Ohio at General Motors' Lordstown Assembly. It's name will likely change (possibly ATS) to fit in with the rest of the Cadillac lineup of cars.(CTS, STS, DTS)

[edit] References

  1. ^ auto motor und sport, #3/2008, p.13
  2. ^ Both figures: Automobil Revue, catalog 2008, p. 47

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: