Cadillac returns to Europe! The fully electric drivetrain also makes it possible for this illustrious American brand to try again on ‘the old continent’, without having to put in too much effort. They still made that effort in 2005, with the BLS specially developed for Europe.
You know what would be nice? Buy a Cadillac BLS, preferably a manual diesel Wagon, and then drive it around the US. The Americans will be astonished, because they haven’t seen such a small Cadillac there since the Cimarron. The Cadillac BLS has never been available in the US anyway, and can be described very succinctly as the reverse equivalent of the Saab 9-7x. While that car was a ‘far-Saabt’ twin brother of the very American Oldsmobile Bravada – and therefore indirectly of the Chevrolet Trailblazer – the Cadillac BLS is in fact a Saab 9-3 with a different body.
The same, yet different: the Saab 9-3 SportCombi above, the Cadillac BLS Wagon below.
In keeping with good GM tradition, not too much effort was made to make the Cadillac differ from the Saab. The basic lines of the 9-3 are clearly recognizable and the windows are probably partly interchangeable, but due to a more tightly shaped rear side window, different door handles and a unique nose and tail, the Cadillac versions still have their own face. The same actually applies to the interior: steering wheel, gear knob and instruments are very ‘Saab’, but due to different ventilation grilles and something like an analogue clock, the BLS interior still has something Cadillac-like. In the distance, then. GM even went to the trouble of moving the ignition switch. While the key on the 9-3 had to be inserted between the seats in typical Saab fashion, on the BLS it can ‘simply’ be placed in a hole to the right of the steering column.
Do you know what would also be really nice? Screwing a Cadillac BLS front onto a Saab 9-3 Cabrio, because that results in a unique car. Cadillac did deliver the BLS as a sedan and – very European – as a station wagon, but not as a convertible. The BLS was the ultimate move in a long series of attempts to gain a foothold in Europe. Cadillac did not do this by pointing out its own unique qualities to Europeans, but mainly by simply imitating the European brands. The 2002 CTS was in fact quite ‘European’, with a sturdy and modern appearance, a relatively compact and stocky body and dynamic driving characteristics. Its predecessor, the Cadillac Catera, was in fact ‘just’ an Opel Omega with a Cadillac grille, just as the aforementioned Cimarron was in fact an Ascona. Yet we dare to call the BLS ‘the most European Cadillac ever’, if only because this entire model has never seen North American roads.
Considering the amount of effort General Motors went to to please European buyers, it’s quite sad how unsuccessful the BLS was. Only 268 were sold in the Netherlands in six years, which does not even make this the most popular Cadillac in our country ever. As is often the case with cars that were not well understood ‘new’, that lack of success does lead to nice used cars. Anyone who would like such a BLS should definitely take a look here, although the stock is logically limited.
It is hoped that Cadillac’s new attempt to gain a foothold in Europe will be more successful than the previous one. In any case, it takes them less effort: where in the past people had to come with diesels and station wagons to try it here, the electric crossover is popular worldwide.