"PlaysWellWithNOthers" (henning2710)
04/02/2020 at 09:56 • Filed to: None
2
10|
"PlaysWellWithNOthers" (henning2710)
04/02/2020 at 09:56 • Filed to: None | 2
| 10 |
Way back when I still lived in my native Germany I owned a 1999 Saab 9-3 2.2TiD with a 5 Speed manual. It was a great car and even though it was clearly lacking in the performance and handling departments, it was a comfortable highway cruiser and with a top speed of ~130mph it was quick enough. With the 116hp/192lb-ft diesel engine it would also easily get 40mpg, which is important when you live in Germany where fuel prices are multiple times higher than here in the US.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
Of course as soon as it came out I always wanted the newer second gen 9-3. And of course when it became available in 2007 the 1.9TTiD 178hp/295lb-ft diesel engine would have been the one of my choice, but before I had a chance to upgrade I moved to the US for my employer.
Years later and I am sitting in my basement working from home due to the coronavirus crisis, but still for the same employer. During my lunch break this of course had me go back to looking at what’s going on in the German used car market, trying to find unusual vehicles that are unobtanium in the US or generally interesting to me, because of their rarity even in Germany.
Enter the Cadillac BLS: a rebagded version of the second gen Saab 9-3 that was never sold in the US or Canada and could be had, just like the Saab 9-3, as a sedan or wagon. It came with the same choice of engines as the Saab 9-3, except for the lowest spec 1.8 liter engines (1.8i 120hp/123lb-ft, 1.8t 148hp/177lb-ft), which were not available in the Saabillac.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
The Cadillac BLS was similar in design language to the US-spec Cadillac CTS and STS of the time, but about 6" shorter than the CTS. In my opinion the BLS, especially in wagon guise, is is not a terrible looking vehicle, if somewhat bland in the front. The Cadillac version, unlike the Saab afaik came standard with a matte aluminum look roof rail, which I personally believe should be standard on any wagon. It was optional on the Saab
The engine choices ranged from a base 2.0t 173hp/195lb-ft, a midrange 2.0T 207hp/221lb-ft, and a top spec 2.8T V6 247hp/258lb-ft gasoline engine through a base 1.9TiD 148hp/236lb-ft and a top spec 1.9TTiD 178hp/273lb-ft diesel engine to a 2.0t FlexPower 173-197hp/195-221lb-ft E85 gasoline engine (lower power and torque numbers are gas and higher numbers are E 85) which Saab called BioPower.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
I prefer the wagon over the sedan for obvious reasons (I am the owner of a different make and model wagon and love it), besides the looks.
Both the sedan and wagon were available with automatic and manual transmissions. Which means there was once a
manual wagon diesel Cadillac, people!
I guess GM wasn’t completely hopeless at some point in time...
The BLS was the predecessor to the Cadillac ATS which is a US-market vehicle and unfortunately was never sold as a wagon.
If I ever moved back to Germany a Cadillac BLS wagon would definitely be on my list of contenders for a new to me ride.
Stay healthy, everyone!
dogisbadob
> PlaysWellWithNOthers
04/02/2020 at 15:24 |
|
GM made a mistake by not selling the BLS here
I’d totally take a BLS wagon
The 9-3 Aero could’ve been a
BLS-V :p
SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
> PlaysWellWithNOthers
04/02/2020 at 15:28 |
|
The “Great Shame Here” is that the next generation Saabs were going to be dynamite cars. Epic cars. As would the “next generation” Pontiac G8 under-pinned by the new platform that ended up under the (ugly) SS. The BLS based Caddy’s, likewise, would have been great cars.
Sigh. Pontiac and Saab, dead. Holden, dead. Opel? Sold to the slave trade. And, Caddy? Absolutely without a rudder.
WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI
> PlaysWellWithNOthers
04/02/2020 at 15:29 |
|
Yeah, they would have sold so many if they brought them here!
Right? oh....... .no?
well, ok then.
Nauraushaun
> SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
04/02/2020 at 15:40 |
|
watch what you say about our SS mate
|
SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
> Nauraushaun
04/02/2020 at 15:46 |
|
I still want one with the 6-speed.... but I don’t have to LOOK at it while I’m driving it.
I still wish they’d have kept the G8 design rather than molding that ugly Malibu-Fatty look on the car. The G8 held up great.
FSI
> PlaysWellWithNOthers
04/02/2020 at 15:54 |
|
They didn't sell many of those and besides one sedan parked in my town I don't remember seeing too many of them. Currently there are 14 BLS' for sale on mobile.de...
Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
> PlaysWellWithNOthers
04/02/2020 at 15:57 |
|
I really enjoyed this. The existence of that car could puzzle many an enthusiast in the US of A.
One tip: put an image up top so it has a share image. T echnically, you can give it a share-only image in a minimized advanced options list in the bottom of the editing screen, but it has never worked for me, usually getting ignored.
Also, does anyone know what is up with that FP post getting shared directly here? That’s like one of three things specifically forbidden in the Rules of the Road. And it’s likely sel f-embiggened.
duurtlang
> WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI
04/02/2020 at 16:00 |
|
They didn’t sell many in Europe either. It was an utter flop. Probably due to the bland look, the badge and the depreciation. I’m not sure how expensive it was compared to the competition, but I’m confident it was too expensive.
The BLS is a great example of how utterly out of touch GM has been in Europe for decades.
ranwhenparked
> SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
04/02/2020 at 16:42 |
|
Cadillac has been attempting to reinvent themselves for 40 years at this point
|
Nauraushaun
> SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
04/02/2020 at 17:44 |
|
Australia has a very different view of this car to the US. We don’t know what a Malibu is and don’t know much about the rest of the bullshit GM tries to scam people into buying. In that bubble, the VF is looking like a pretty decent facelift to the VE. My bro has one