Cadillac Targets 20,000 European Sales per Year by 2010

What do premium brands BMW and Cadillac have in common? Other than targeting a similar demographic, sporting high-tech multivalve, dual-cam engines, sophisticated manual mode transmissions and new edge "shock em into signing" styling, arguably better executed by the domestic nameplate, the two companies have only recently been uttered in the same sentence.

Cadillac has come a long way in competitiveness in recent years, enough so that GM is now selling it in Europe to

BMW is in talks with GM to form a strategic partnership for supplying common-rail, direct-injection turbodiesel engines to Cadillac. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

Whether BMW doesnt think its American foe poses too much of a threat in Europe, or just possibly it sees the potential to make money off of Cadillacs success too great an opportunity to

To be successful in Europe, Cadillac needs to have a diesel powerplant. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

An alternative, if the talks dont materialize into a working relationship, would be to use engines made by GMs joint venture with Italian automaker Fiat, which are already in use by European specification Saabs. The newspaper story added that it may

There is a precedent for this joint venture, with BMW having supplied GM Europe with 6-cylinder diesel engines for the Opel Omega. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, American Auto Press)

Either way Cadillac must have a worthy diesel alternative to its high-tech gasoline engines in the European market, which currently purchases close to 50 percent of its new cars in this configuration.

Neither GM Europe nor BMW would comment on the report, there is a precedent as previously set when BMW supplied GM Europe with 6-cylinder diesel engines for the Opel Omega. BMW also currently supplies gasoline and diesel

Cadillac recently doubled its European sales forecast to 20,000 units by 2010. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, American Auto Press)

The report stated that GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz had mentioned a decision could be finalized prior to the Geneva motor show in March.

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