Opel/Vauxhall Insignia wins European Car of the Year by single point

Looks like there won't be much of a fiesta for Ford this year, as the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia has captured the 2009 European Car of the Year award by just one point over the hot little hatch with the big blue oval on its snout. Scoring 321 points to the Fiesta's 320, the Insignia claimed the victory with the bronze going to the Volkswagen Golf (223 points). It's the first win for Opel in 22 years, although the European branch of GM has scored four runner-up spots in the past. You might even say this is payback for Ford, which snatched the top prize from Opel in 2007 when the Ford S-Max nipped the Corsa by two points in the balloting. According to the jurors, the Insignia won this year based on its "artistry with German precision" good looks, active and passive safety features, comfort and a wide array of efficient engines including that 280-hp turbo V6. Options such as the Opel Eye that reads road signals, FlexRide suspension and nine-mode Adaptive Forward Lighting were also cited. Hopefully this car will eventually show up Stateside as the next Saturn Aura. Thanks for the tip, everyone!


[ Tag: car of the year, CarOfTheYear, coty, european car of the year, EuropeanCarOfTheYear, ford fiesta, FordFiesta, opel insignia, OpelInsignia ]

Rendered Speculation: Saab MINI-fighter

Automotive journalists visiting a GM design studio recently got an eyeful of something interesting: a MINI rival from the General, leaving the door open to speculation over which GM division could make it work. While the drawings spotted reportedly featured Chevy bow-ties, the scribes over at Motor Trend venture that Chevrolet couldn't sell it at high enough a price-point to make it a viable option. It'd be too small for Buick or Cadillac, and too European-flavored for Pontiac. (We don't need to point out that HUMMER and GMC wouldn't be a fit, either.) That leaves Saab and Saturn, either or both of which (in possible collaboration with Vauxhall/Opel) could present an intriguing alternative to the fashionable Anglo-Saxon retro-hatch, whose monopoly is coming to an end thanks to Fiat's hot-selling 500 and Alfa Romeo upcoming "Junior" model. It was nice while it lasted, wasn't it, MINI?


[ Tag: gm mini, GmMini, opel mini, OpelMini, saab mini, SaabMini, saturn mini, SaturnMini, vauxhall mini, VauxhallMini ]

GM bringing more 'Green' to Frankfurt, new Opel concept to bow

During this year's Frankfurt Motor Show in September, GM will be taking the wraps of its latest eco-minded concept, in the form of a new Opel-branded vehicle. The E-Flex-equipped concept will feature an electric motor that sends power to the wheels, which can be charged via either a household power outlet or the concept's ultra-efficient diesel mill.
Along with the aforementioned concept, GM will be unveiling a Opel/Vauxhall Corsa equipped with a 1.3-liter common rail diesel that produces 75 HP and releases 119 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer traveled. The show stand will also hold the E85-capable Cadillac BLS and the HydroGen4, a Euro-spec version of the Chevy Equinox fuel cell vehicle.


[ Tag: bls, cadillac, chevrolet, chevy, corsa, e-flex, e85, general motors, GeneralMotors, gm, opel, vauxhall ]

GM gives very early sneak peek at next-gen Astra

We just told you about Bob Lutz' comments that the Saturn Astra is too expensive and not making any money in the U.S., but that may change when the next iteration arrives. Of course, the next Astra will debut in Europe first as an Opel (and Vauxhall in the UK), but we suspect that GM will offer it in the U.S. again, especially if the automaker can build it locally so that it's not dogged by a weak currency exchange like the current model. Though not scheduled to debut until late next year at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, the fourth-gen Astra is making an appearance today in a couple of sketches released by General Motors Europe. The design is said to take direct inspiration from the new Insignia, which itself will become the next-gen Saturn Aura. The all-new Astra will be based on the Delta II platform with vehicles like the Chevy Cruze and Volt and feature a new range of fuel efficient engines, clever packaging solutions and trick technology like the Insignia's Front Camera System that recognizes road signs. Check out the sneak peeks in our gallery below.

[ Autoblog (Vauxhall) ]
[ Tag: astra, fourth-generation astra, Fourth-generationAstra, frankfurt, frankfurt 2009, frankfurt motor show, Frankfurt2009, FrankfurtMotorShow, opel astra, OpelAstra, saturn astra, SaturnAstra, vauxhall astra, VauxhallAstra ]

Insignia Sports Tourer wagon revealed before Paris Motor Show

The all-new Insignia is about to go on sale as a Vauxhall in Britain and an Opel throughout the rest of Europe, thereby replacing the Vectra sedan. It's a marked improvement over its predecessor in style, and we're eager for it to arrive in the States as the next-gen Saturn Aura. Vauxhall had the honor today of announcing the next version of the Insignia that will makes its debut at the Paris Motor Show in October: the Insignia Sports Tourer. That's a fancy way of calling it a wagon, or estate as they like to say in the old country. Being that the sedan and hatch are quite handsome, it's fair to say the Sports Tourer is as well, though its rear end looks like a lowered Audi Q7. GM Europe says that all the bodywork aft of the B-pillar is unique to the Sports Tourer, and that while the length of the wheelbase hasn't changed, a little over three inches was added to the overall length. Vauxhall also announced a more power turbodiesel engine and smaller turbocharged four-cylinder will be joining the Insignia's engine lineup, but are saving any details, including the wagon's capacities, until the Paris Motor Show.

[ Autoblog (Vauxhall) ]
[ Tag: insignia estate, insignia wagon, InsigniaEstate, InsigniaWagon, opel insignia sports tourer, OpelInsigniaSportsTourer, paris, paris 2008, paris motor show, Paris2008, ParisMotorShow, vauxhall insignia sports tourer, VauxhallInsigniaSportsTourer ]

Spy Shots: Opel Astra caught

Ja, Bjorn, tink dat's de new Astra? Shoor looks like it, Jan. Lutz will be asking you to kiss this thing when it comes out from under that checkerboard camo. The current Astra is good, and the new one promises to be better, with looks that aren't revolutionary, but nicely done nonetheless. We'll see this world car version of the Astra sometime around 2011 with a variety of drivetrains, including hybrid power. The C-Pillar remains obscured, leaving our curiosity about the hatch's ultimate form unfulfilled. From what we can see, though, the new Astra will be like the current Astra - competitively styled and priced.

[ autoblog.nl ]
[ Tag: astra spy photo, astra spy shot, AstraSpyPhoto, AstraSpyShot, opel astra, OpelAstra, saturn astra, SaturnAstra, spy photo, spy photographer, spy photography, spy photos, spy shot, spy shots, SpyPhoto, SpyPhotographer, SpyPhotography, SpyPhotos, SpyShot, SpyShots ]

Lutz: No Beat for the U.S., smaller CUVs on the way, Insignia stalled

General Motor's car czar, Bob Lutz, sat down with the little people of the blogosphere after GM's announcement that it would be reducing white collar expenditures by 20-percent, cutting truck production and eliminating retired health care for salaried workers over 65, all in an effort to boost its liquidity by $15 billion by the end of 2009.
Maximum Bob addressed questions about GM's entire brand portfolio, saying, "Pontiac will be nourished with products" and confirming that GM is in talks with financial institutions about HUMMER, and that, "If we could sell the brand, we'd be interested in doing that."

Predictably, much of the conversation centered on fuel efficiency and the General's plans to address the growing demand for miserly transport in the U.S. Lutz made it clear that "as fuel costs in the U.S. begin to resemble those in the rest of the world" it will be easier for GM to realign its products on a global scale.
[Photo: David McNew/Getty]

So what about the Chevy Beat? The subcompact hatch is slated to arrive in Europe next year as the Spark, replacing the vehicle that shares the same name. However, GM didn't intend for the Beat (or Spark) to be offered in the U.S., so it doesn't meet federal safety and crash standards. It would take too much money and about two years to bring the Beat up to snuff for sales in the U.S., so Lutz conceded that it wouldn't be coming to the U.S. until the next generation arrives... whenever that is.

In more unfortunate news, the Chevrolet Cruze, set to debut in Paris and with sales beginning next year in Europe, won't be replacing the Cobalt in the U.S. anytime soon. Lutz maintains that the current Cobalt is "no where near the end of its life-cycle" and that it's "finally coming into its own" in the U.S. market. When the Cruze does debut, expect an interior that's a cross between the Cobalt and the Malibu, and powered by a turbocharged 1.4-liter four-pot that will get 40+ mpg.

When asked about Saturn, Lutz was insistent that GM "likes the brand," but is concerned that the franchise isn't generating enough volume. While earlier reports suggested that Saturn would short-cycle the Aura and replace it with the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia, Lutz says that it won't be coming forthright.

When the 2008/2009 show season ramps up, expect GM to debut several new compact crossovers that are significantly smaller than the Lambda CUVs currently on sale. Lutz wouldn't elaborate on what brands would be getting these new cute 'utes, but expect them to span GM's portfolio.

On a completely unrelated tangent, Lutz divulged a few tidbits about his personal rides, which include a Saturn Sky Redline, an Aura and four (count 'em, four) Segways. Go figure...

[ Autoblog (Vauxhall) ]
[ Tag: beat, bob lutz, BobLutz, breaking, cruza, cruze, general motors, GeneralMotors, gm, gmc, hummer, saturn ]