Cadillac UK sets equal pricing for BLS sedan or wagon
click above to view more high-res images of the Cadillac BLS wagon
At the Frankfurt Motor Show this past September, Cadillac unveiled the BLS estate, the company's first wagon. The Euro-only Caddy, which slots into the line-up below the CTS, is based on the Saab 9-3 and takes on its wagon bodystyle in addition to a sedan. Cadillac's British operation has released its pricing scheme for the latest BLS, and intriguingly set the base MSRP at the exact same level as the sedan.
For £21,495, British customers can choose the BLS sedan or "estate" wagon, with either a gasoline or diesel base engine, beyond which Cadillac is offering an additional three engine options for the sedan or five for the wagon, including a new 180-hp turbodiesel and Saab's 200-hp Biopower ethanol engine, relabeled for the Caddy as Flexpower. No matter the engine or bodystyle choice, the BLS comes fully equipped with Elegance remaining as the only trim level and only metallic paint (£500) and sunroof (£650) as optional equipment.
[Source: What Car?]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Tyo 8:05AM (1/29/2008)
BLS SportCombi looks sweet
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Mohawk58 8:20AM (1/29/2008)
Very nice product too bad Lutz believes in wagins for Europe and 2 door pick-ups for the US
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sydbot 8:33AM (1/29/2008)
I've haven't had a chance to ride in/drive a 9-3, but everytime I sit in one, I feel disappointed. It comes across as the least Saab-like Saab...who knows how it works as a Caddy?
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cowboy bob 8:43AM (1/29/2008)
Sydbot- And that's bad why? I have had an interest in the CTS here for some time, but felt that it didn't offer the wife the "grocery getter" needs. This works.
andrew 8:39AM (1/29/2008)
i want that.
of course i also want the 2 door ute if that's what mohawk means.
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Menice 8:42AM (1/29/2008)
should only be in black...
look at pic 17.
if there was ever a car MADE TO BE A HEARST, this is it.
http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2008-cadillac-bls-wagon/295275/
pic 18 should show how well a coffin fits in
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Bill 10:10AM (1/29/2008)
Patty might disagree.
cowboy bob 12:35PM (1/29/2008)
Menice- It's "Hearse". A vehicle commonly used to transport deceaced people. "Hurst" is a transmission shifter, and "Hearst" is a surname of English decent. I thought you might want to know........
Menice 12:46PM (1/29/2008)
you know, i think i knew that too. (not the surname part though)no wonder i'm stuck in a dead end career.
thanks for the heads up.
cowboy bob 4:14PM (1/29/2008)
No problem. Almost everyone says it like you spelled it. Just one of those crazy things people pick up like "edjucated" instead of "educated". Besides, I spelled "deceased" wrong as I look at it. So there you have it. At least you weren't an "azhole" when you responded. It had to be tempting though 'eh?
Drewboy 9:16AM (1/29/2008)
I'd like to have a Cadillac wagon here in the US...
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psarhjinian 9:42AM (1/29/2008)
That would be the SRX. GM wont do a real wagon because it's more profitable (in CAFE terms) to just jack up the CTS a few inches and call it a truck.
AMcA 9:08PM (1/29/2008)
That would be the SRX for only another year or two. (Sad, as they've just given it great mojo with 22" wheels - but typical GM, they did it way too late to save the car in the market.)
One the SRX is gone, it'll be a CTS. Which, if the coupe variant is any indication, is going to be one hot vehicle. A V, please. Black.
psarhjinian 9:39AM (1/29/2008)
Is GM trying to kill Saab?
I mean, really, why have both this and the 9-3? If you don't think Cadillac is strong enough to make it in Europe on it's own merits, then don't handicap it by selling a rebadged Saab. If you think Saab should die in favour of Cadillac, then kill it quickly, don't let it bleed out.
But don't do to GM Europe what's been done in GMNA. You already have Opel and Saab, you don't need the bring Cadillac (and Chevrolet) over to stomp all over them in a futile attempt at empire-building. If you need a cheaper Opel, build a cheaper Opel; if you need an entry-level Cadillac, cut the price of the CTS and eat the margin.
Europe has, what, six or seven major brands and about ten smaller ones. Do you really think that fragmenting is going to be a good thing?
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Richard S. 12:59AM (2/03/2008)
I think that GM is trying to position Opel as a "mass-market upscale brand" a la Volkswagen. As VW has Skoda for cheaper entries, so does GM wants to position Chevrolet as such (using rebadged Daewoos). Then for the luxury line, bring Cadillac as GM's counterpart for VW's Audi. Not sure where that leaves Saab. Why buy a 9-3 when you can buy a loaded Vectra? Saab seems to have no purpose in GM other than selling fleet vehicles in Sweden and for the buyer looking to be different.
PAT 9:54AM (1/29/2008)
Why can't we get these cars over here? Is it money? It seems like there is a growing interest in smaller cars with potent fuel efficient diesel engines. Come on Lutz, you have done so much to help revitalize GM, open your ears to the changing demands of your customers in the US. There is room in the Caddy lineup for this vehicle and a sedan offering the array of engines offered in Europe. Offering multiple engines works for the truck market, I think it would work for sedans and wagons.
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ronnie schreiber 11:40AM (1/29/2008)
I don't think you can blame Lutz for this one as he's been one of the proponents of leveraging their global platforms. I'm pretty sure he's behind bringing in their RWD Holden platforms (G8, Camaro) and repositioning Saturn as the US equivalent to Opel. Lutz was one of those responsible for killing the new Saturn Ion and replacing it with the Astra. A new Ion would have cost $700 million, while the Astra just needed reworking a couple of inches in the front end for crash standards.
PAT 11:47AM (1/29/2008)
Good point. I am just trying to understand why car makers are struggling to bring diesels (more engine options for that matter) to the US market. You have 3 options for the sedan and FIVE for the wagon!
ronnie schreiber 11:46AM (1/29/2008)
I'm sure everyone is looking to see how Ford does with the Flex, since it's as close to a conventional wagon as we've seen from a US maker since the Taurus/Sable wagons. Detroit seems convinced that they can't sell station wagons (or at least call them that).
Suburban women, and their changing self-images and tastes, have moved the market from conventional mid and full size wagons first to minivans then to SUVs (when they were loathe to be thought of as moms driving minivans) and now to crossovers to maintain environmental respectability when picking up the kids after school.
Frankly, I've always been a fan of the sportwagon or shooting brake idea. The Dodge Magnum excites me way more than the 300, and the Volvo 1800ES had perfect lines. I think it's too bad that Ford never did a wagon version of the SHO (Mom could have had her wagon, Dad his hot rod).
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DKB_SATX 12:12PM (1/29/2008)
psarhjinian is most likely correct when he says it's a CAFE thing. GM is just gaming the government's brain-dead calculation of CAFE... if they only counted as a truck what's USED as a truck, and called dorky tall tippy wagon "Crossovers" the cars that they really are, there'd be no benefit in making the vehicle tall (SRX, Outback, RAV4, CRV, etc. etc) for all the people who're never going to go further offroad than the back parking lot at the mall.