Opel News

The Corsa is dowdy and downmarket inside, but there is the promise of improvements in an updated car being tested in Scandinavia.  

The car is a modified version of an old Opel Vectra, sold as a Holden in Australia in the late 1990s. The home video shows the Russians connected servo motors to metal rods to control the steering and gear selection. Although they don't get far, it shows what is possible with modern technology. It turns out the biggest technical challenge was touching the surface of the iPad in sub zero temperatures. The iPad requires the heat of fingertips to adjust controls.  The homemade creation shows what's possible as the world's car makers wrestle with driverless technology. Cars already have the brain power to drive themselves (via cameras, radar sensors and navigation systems). But the industry is trying to come to terms with the legal and safety ramifications. The industry is now working on technology it has dubbed "piloted driving", requiring the driver to intervene at any moment. Some Volvos, Volkswagens and Subarus can already brake automatically in an emergency but the next step in automated driving is at least two years away from showrooms.  Google has been experimenting with driverless cars for several years. Reportedly the only times its automated cars have crashed was due to driver error. This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling  

...that's nearly ready for European showrooms. It has a much smoother nose with new lights, bumpers and grille that will also be previewed at the Geneva show.  

... is now officially a non-starter for Australia even though the first deliveries are about to begin. Too costly, it seems. But Carparazzi has already sketched how the Adam will open up into a Cabrio in 2014, and we can always dream -- but it won't be coming here. This journalist is on Twitter: @paulwardgover

Carparazzi caught the Sport Wagon during testing at Death Valley in the USA, with camouflage pointing to a new look to the nose and tail. There's also likely to be a mild interior work over.

It's being hatched in Europe to a busy baby-car market but it's too early to tell if Opel's new car will develop enough to make it here.The Opel Adam - a twist on the company originator's name, Adam Opel - is the first new nameplate from Opel since the Insignia of 2008. Opel Australia says the Adam - a three-door car the length of aHyundai Getz - isn't confirmed for sale in Australia. But the company says "it's something we will watch''."The complexity and number of options on this little car makes it a tough sell for Australia, with long delivery times and so on,'' says Opel Australia marketing boss Michelle Lang. "It is a great product though and if there is any way we can see an appetite for it here, I'll be pushing for it.'' The car was this week unveiled in the UK and shows that Opel sister company Vauxhall has adopted a fun attitude to marketing Adam.It hits the UK in three trim levels - Jam (for fashionable and colourful), Glam (elegant and sophisticated) and Slam (sporty). The fashion-led philosophy allows customisation of up to one-million different combinations. Vauxhall claims this gives the Adam the ability to be personalised in more ways than any other mass-produced car.It has 12 body colours including Purple Fiction and James Blonde, with three contrasting roof colours - I'll be Black, White my Fire and Men in Brown. Then there are three option packs - Two-tone Black or White Pack; flamboyant Twisted Pack; and bold Extreme Pack - and three external decal packages called Splat, Fly and Stripes.Even the ceiling headliners come in three versions - Sky (clouds), Fly (autumn leaves) and Go (chequered flag) - and there are 18 interchangeable decor panels on the dashboard and doors, two of which are backlit by LEDs which Vauxhall claims is an industry first. It has Opel's new IntelliLink infotainment system that connects a smartphone to the car and is the first system compatible with both Android and Apple iOS. It is the first Vauxhall to include new-generation Advanced Park-Assist that identifies appropriate parking spaces and steers the car into place. The UK will get the choice initially of three four-cylinder petrol engine specs - 52kW/115Nm 1.2-litre, 65kW/130Nm 1.4-litre and a higher-performance 75kW/130Nm 1.4 - but a three-cylinder, direct-injection turbo-petrol of about 1-litre will follow. There are no diesels and no automatic transmissions in Adam's satchel.The car would match up against the Volkswagen Up - and its Skoda Citigo clone - and Hyundai i20, Mitsubishi Mirage and Nissan Micra, so needing a sub $14,000 price tag. 

New import Opel has unveiled its mid-size Cascada convertible in the lead up to European sales in early 2013 and likely for Australia at the end of 2013. While it effectively replaces - though is bigger than - the Opel Astra TwinTop, it doesn't have that model's metal folding roof.  Instead, the Cascada - to be sold under the Vauxhall and Opel nameplates and be clones into a Buick version - has a taut fabric roof that can be opened in 17 seconds up to 50km/h.The two-door, four-seat is nearly 4.7m long - bigger than an Audi A5 Convertible - and Opel says it positions it in a sector it hasn't occupied since the 1930s. The Cascada sits on an Astra platform and shares its drivetrain. It is 26mm longer than the Astra sedan but shares its wheelbase. But it's not all Astra - the front suspension and the HiPerStrut geometry that reduces torque steer are borrowed from the Insignia.This system separates damping and steering functions, reducing torque steer, while also improving steering feel and cornering control. Opel is pushing the Cascada's safety credentials, claiming it to be an exceptionally rigid open-top with 43 per cent more rigidity than the smaller, steel-roofed TwinTop.Safety technology for Europe that is likely to drain down to Australia - either standard or optional - includes adaptive forward lighting, a front camera system with traffic-sign recognition, lane departure warning, a following-distance indicator, blind-side monitor and forward collision alert.Opel Australia hasn't committed itself to the car but it's on the wish list. The A-pillars supporting the windscreen are made from press-hardened steel while in the event of a roll-over, pyrotechnically activated, spring-loaded high strength bars automatically deploy behind the rear seats. These rollbars are also triggered during other severe impacts, for example, when airbags are deployed. With the roof raised, boot capacity is 350 litres - only 80 litres less than the Astra sedan - and when the roof is down, drops to 280 litres.But for extra room, Opel has an optional FlexFold system that electrically releases and folds down the 50/50 split rear seats, allowing longer objects to be stored. As announced last night, the European-spec Cascada initially will be sold with the choice of three four-cylinder engines. One is the 121kW/380Nm 2.0 CDTi turbo-diesel engine - also in the Insignia - with either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic. But the highlight of Cascada's engine line-up will be the all-new 125kW/280Nm 1.6 SIDI Ecotec turbo-petrol engine. This is the first of Opel's new MGE (Mid-Size Gasoline Engine) family. The other engine is Opel's 103kW/220Nm 1.4-litre turbo-petrol. It may not make the boat to Australia given Opel's endeavour to lift the car closer to the prestige market. Opel originally planned to launch the Cascada as a convertible and coupe however it's delicate financial position in Europe has put the steel-top on hold. 

The Euro-built hatch - previewing at the Australian International Motor Show - will compete with Volkswagen's Scirocco R and the RenaultSport Megane RS265 for the premium performance hatch role and Opel is promising a high level of specification in the car to justify an expected mid-$40,000 price.The car has been widely expected as the hero model in the Opel range and with a class-leading 206kW/400Nm from a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine, it shouldn't disappoint. Opel is stating a 0-100km/h time of six seconds flat for the two-door coupe, which is based on the sportily styled Opel Astra GTC.Beyond the engine, exterior changes include side skirts and deeper front and rear bumpers, a pair of trapezoidal exhausts, 19-inch alloy wheels and a limited-slip diff that helps the "HiPerStrut" front suspension improve roadholding for the front-wheel drive car A bespoke Brembo braking system, headlined by ventilated 355mm front discs help slow the hatch down. The system was tested in a 10,000km high-speed endurance run on the Nurburgring track in Germany, so it should survive the worst Australian drivers can throw at it.Opel says the Astra OPC will lap the ‘Ring in a staggering 8 minutes and 35 seconds. That time is within 30 seconds for the record 8min08sec time set by the recently launched Megane RS265, but the Renault doesn't have the same level of creature comforts as European-spec OPCs, giving the Opel an edge in the luxury stakes.The OPC also uses a variable three-mode "FlexRide" damper system, running Standard, Sport and OPC settings. Sport stiffens the dampers to improve control, but it is the OPC mode that gets interesting. Here, the system improves throttle response, sets the dampers to their maximum level and reduces improves roll. The instrument lighting changes from white to red in OPC mode to remind the driver they've truly entered hot hatch territory.Opel will release pricing and specification closer to next year's launch, but those at the motor show should take a long, hard look at the display car. 

This month’s Australian International Motor Show will be the host of two new marques in the Australian automotive industry. European manufacturer Opel will be utilising the Motor Show as part of its official launch strategy into the Australian automotive industry, where the Australian public will be able to see and experience its entire range. A wide number of variants from Opel’s three-model strong range of vehicles will be on display, consisting of the eagerly anticipated Astra, the medium-sized Insignia and the Corsa city car. Opel also has an extra surprise in store for the Australian public, with details to be announced closer to the Show. Also making its official Australian International Motor Show debut and offering local motorists a new choice in performance luxury will be Japanese manufacturer, Infiniti. Just over a month ago, Infiniti officially re-entered the Australian automotive market with the release of its first two model ranges, the FX performance crossover variants and the Infiniti M sports sedan. These will also be joined on stand by the Infiniti G37 coupe and convertible, giving the Australian public their first look at these two vehicles ahead of their official on-sale in December. “It is always a momentous occasion in Australian automotive history when a new manufacturer makes its debut and this year, we have not only one, but two, giving Australian motorists more choice and options,” said Russ Tyrie, Event Director. “I feel very proud that both Opel and Infiniti will be exhibiting at the Australian International Motor Show as part of their launch strategies in Australia which demonstrates not only their commitment and recognition of our local automotive industry, but as well, the importance and significance of the Motor Show to this industry.”  The 2012 Australian International Motor Show will be held at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour and will open daily at 10am from October 19 to 28.  

Factory closures are becoming increasingly probable after European car registrations fell to their lowest level in 22 years last month. The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) notes the sales slowdown is accelerating and now predicts a slump of up to 10 per cent for the year.In all, just 688,168 new vehicles were registered in August, the lowest total for the month since the EU data was first compiled in 1990. With some factories already running at 50 per cent of capacity, there is talk of Fiat, Ford and Opel closing the doors on some of their most unprofitable production lines.“Something needs to give,” Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne said last week, adding that Fiat will outline a blueprint for the “European challenge” when it releases third quarter results later this year. Ford was the biggest loser in August with sales down by almost a third on the previous year, a fact it attributes to a decision not to match rivals discounts during what is traditionally the slowest car sales month on the EU calendar. “There was a lot of short-cycle business and heavy incentives that we decided largely to refrain from, Ford of Europe's marketing chief Roelant de Waard says. The Volkswagen Group's massive product portfolio made it one of the few carmakers to increase sales, led by Audi increasing its share of the luxury car segment. In contrast, Opel/Vauxhall saw a 19 per cent fall in registrations, Fiat was down 18 per cent and both Renault and Peugeot/Citroen were hit with 13 per cent drops. Registrations by country largely reflect those hurting worst from the sovereign debt crisis. Greece and Portugal lead the way with falls of 40 per cent year-to-date, Italy is down by almost 20 per cent and Spanish registrations fell by 8.5 per cent. Ominously for France, registrations this year are down 13.4 per cent, while Germany, which accounts for one in three of all cars sold in Europe, has seen its market contract by 0.6 per cent. The French Government has fiercely resisted factory closures on its turf and criticised Peugeot last month when it announced it would shed up to 10,000 jobs and close a factory in the north of the country. That's not an option for Renault, with the government holding a controlling stake in the French carmaker.