The Cadillac BLS, the first Cadillac to be designed from the outset specifically with the demands of European driving conditions in mind, has been awarded the “Winter Car 2007” Award by Finland’s Tekniikan Maailma Magazine. The award will be presented to Jim Taylor, Cadillac’s General Manager by Mr. Martti Merilinna, COTY member and Chief Editor of Finland’s leading motoring magazine, on the Cadillac stand at the forthcoming Geneva Motor Show.

Cadillac’s luxury midsize sedan was nominated after a demanding test featuring twenty of the newest models which have entered the market in the past year. The TM Winter Test is highly regarded among the customers and the auto industry and is particularly significant in that Finland is regarded as having some of the most severe winter driving conditions in Europe. Temperatures as low as minus thirty degrees are commonplace in the Arctic North of Finland and high-friction snow tyres are used throughout the winter months across the country.

The front-wheel drive Cadillac BLS was launched across Europe in 2006 and offers the first-ever turbo-diesel variant in the brand’s history. Like the 129kW, 154kW and 188kW gasoline versions, the 110kW turbodiesel gives the dynamic driving performance that customers have come to expect from Cadillac and all BLS models offer expressive design, outstanding ride and acoustic comfort.

The additional demands of the tough Finish winter were summarized by the Tekniikan Maailma review as the ability “in this sparsely populated land of the cold and dark winter to select a car that will take us to our destination in safety, comfort and warmth.” The Cadillac BLS proved more than capable of meeting those requirements.

The Tekniikan Maailma tests took the cars from the Finnish capital of Helsinki to the internationally known test track at Ivalo in Northern Finland, as well as evaluating them on snow-covered stretches of highway. The Cadillac came out on top in areas including low-grip handling, braking stability and grip on uphill starts as well as its headlamp performance and its ability to heat the interior to a comfortable 15 degrees in just ten minutes from a sub-zero startup.

“Here is the best ever Cadillac one could hope for winter use” said the TM testers. Their comments are proof of the fulfillment of a prime aim of the BLS design team; to create a Cadillac in harmony with even the toughest European driving conditions.