Himafagy

GM's getting pretty serious about globalizing the Cadillac brand. You know they're serious because they're not just exporting cars built for American buyers to overseas markets, they're actually making cars specifically for Europe that aren't even available here, like the BLS. Based on the Saab 9-3, the BLS puts Cadillac's edgy styling in a European package, and now Cadillac is raising the stakes a bit with the BLS Sport.

While no V-Series, the Sport model upgrades on the standard BLS with 18-inch rims, dropped suspension and fine-tuned handling. Inside the wood trim is replaced by brush aluminum (aluminium, with an extra I, to our overseas friends) and sportier-looking instrumentation. In overseas markets, leather trim is not the must-have option it is in the US, so that remains an option.

Power comes from a range of engines including two-liter turbocharged four-bangers producing 175 or 210 horsepower, a 255-hp V6 or a 150-hp common-rail turbodiesel.

Shame we don't get it here, but somehow we don't think anyone will be complaining once the upcoming new CTS is unveiled. It'd be interesting, however, to see how the BLS Sport stacks up against its platform mate, the Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan.

(Interior shot after the jump.)

[Source: Edmunds' Inside Line]

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Reader Julius Cheng calls his '81 Eldo diesel "a rolling monument to GM stupidity," which, in addition to making us chuckle, also serves as a vivid reminder of just how far GM and Cadillac have come in the last 25 years. Examples of the aforementioned "Old GM" stupidity included Diesel badges that were misaligned on each side of the car, as well as only having three matching wheel centers. Ahhh, the salad days of quality control.


The car is mostly stock, save for repairs/replacements performed after it was stolen, as well as a couple of modern concessions like a K&N filter and Performance Friction brake pads. Julius learned to drive in this car, which his dad bought because of it's fuel economy potential. In its prime, it was apparently a nice road-trip cruiser, as the 105-horsepower diesel was good for 24-25 mpg between refuelings. Due to scarcity of parts, however, taking it on long trips is a bit of a gamble now. It recently blew a fuel injector pump on a drive from NJ to NY, and Julius had to drive the car an hour out of the way (at a blazing 35mph) just to get the part.


In any case, he does work at maintaining its original look. The diesel exhaust makes keeping the rear end clean a full-time job, and he's also pretty meticulous about ensuring that the wire-spoke wheel covers look tidy. Lastly, the interior retains the utterly breathtaking 80s GM ergonomics and appears to be in decent shape. When you consider that a lot of Eldorados from this era are either total beaters or already rotting away in junkyards, it's nice to see someone put in the effort to keep one looking and running OK. The fact that it's a diesel makes it particularly interesting and seals the deal: it's today's Reader Ride of the Day.


Follow the jump for additional photos and instructions on how to submit your car for RRotD consideration.


1981 Cadillac Eldorado Diesel

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Many of you demanded live shots of Cadillac's premium Platinum Series of vehicles that include the XLR, STS and DTS, and we are but your humble servants. Shown here is each vehicle on the show floor, with the XLR and its attractive Liquid Amethyst paint job being the obvious ringleader. Extra chrome trim has been liberally applied to each model along with bespoke wheels and interiors that are above and beyond standard Cadillac innards but not up to the standards set by the "Cut and Sew" interior offered on the SRX. We'll echo Alex's sentiment that this level of luxury should come standard on every Cadillac, but it's good to know the brand can walk a runway when it wants to.


Many pic's after the jump


PHOTO GALLERY


XLR Platinum Series




DTS Platinum Series






STS Platinum Series

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It was not so many years ago that Aston Martin celebrated the production of their 10,000th car. Ever! It took more than five decades for the company to build it's first 10,000 cars. Now Aston is making plans to build that many cars annually and challenge Bentley. For the most part Ford's adventure in building expensive British vehicles has been a resounding financial failure (see Jaguar and Land Rover), with the distinct exception of the apparently now profitable Aston Martin.


Since the mid-nineties introduction of the DB7, the firm has been transformed from a place where craftsman hammered out aluminum body panels by hand to assemble quaint but expensive luxury coupes into a manufacturer of high-tech, high-performance sports-GT cars. Before the launch of the DB7 Aston was turning out about 300 cars a year. The DB7 started out at 700 per year. Last year, 7,000 Aston Martin cars were produced. Now on the brink of a spin-off from Ford, Aston Martin is studying how to increase production because their main plant in Gaydon is already running at full capacity.


The popularity of the DB9 (2500 units in 2006) and Vantage (4200 copies) has caused the company to back off on plans to build the Rapide four door that was shown last year. With plans for a new Vanquish, a production version of the DBS from the latest James Bond movie and the Rapide, a number of options are being evaluated. Possibilities include moving body-in-white and tub assembly and painting out of the Gaydon plant, or potentially building an extension to the plant. No final decision is expected until after the sale of the company is completed.


[Source: Just-Auto - subscription required]

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