Entries Tagged 'Opel' ↓

The Shape of Things to Come: Opel Flextreme GT/E Concept

World Premiere at the Geneva Motor Show 2010

Rüsselsheim. Opel will unveil its Flextreme GT/E concept car at the 80th Geneva Motor Show (March 4 – 14), that will boost the company’s credentials as a leader in green technologies, offering expressive design with efficient environmental performance – and engineered with German precision.

In Opel’s strategy for achieving more independence from fossil fuels, electricity plays a key role. The 4.7-meter long Flextreme GT/E concept illustrates how extended-range electric vehicle (E-REV) technology can be plugged into large or mid-size vehicles, as well as compact cars such as the upcoming Ampera.

Opel calls this strategy e-mobility unlimited: adapting the highly efficient E-REV drive system – which removes the limitations of battery-only power – to vehicles across all market segments. To enjoy zero CO2 driving emissions Opel-style, the Flextreme GT/E concept shows that size doesn’t matter.

The purposeful design also enables the Flextreme GT/E to achieve a projected drag co-efficient of just 0.22, which helps it reach a 200 km/h-plus top speed as well as conserve energy and extend its driving range. Stand-out visual features include a low and wide stance, wing-shaped lights front and rear, a distinctive nose and grille, floating C-pillars and muscular, sculptured bodywork.

“The Flextreme GT/E concept shows the shape of things to come from Opel,” says Frank Weber, Vice President, Corporate and Product Planning. “Bold, expressive and highly efficient, it represents the product strategy we will apply to all our future vehicles, large and small, across all market segments.”

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Amsterdam Worldwide BV has won launch duties for the Opel/Vauxhall Meriva small minivan across 40 European countries. A successful launch of the Meriva, Europe’s top-selling small minivan, is key to the future of General Motors Co. subsidiaries Opel of Germany and its U.K.-based sister brand Vauxhall.

The ad agency formerly known as StrawberryFrog, Amsterdam, beat out McCann Erickson; Lowe, London; and Delaney Lund Knox Warren & Partners in the pitch. Spending wasn’t disclosed, but executives familiar with the matter said that pan-European auto launches can be worth as much as $90 million.

“When we examined the cultural context across a lot of markets, we came upon a clear and simple idea that captures this specific car and the role of the Opel brand in the lives of Europeans,” Amsterdam Worldwide CEO Brian Elliott said of the pitch, though he did not disclose the specifics of that idea.

Duties include an integrated campaign to launch the Meriva across Europe after its debut at the Geneva auto show in March 2010.

Amsterdam Worldwide has launched cars internationally for GM in the past two years, including the Opel/Vauxhall Agila, Chevrolet Aveo and Chevrolet Captiva.

GM has a chunk of the German-based automaker up for sale. Sources say the company will sit down next week to discuss a deal for its European operations. The German government, which has provided Opel with bailout funds, wants GM to sell Opel to Magna International Inc. The Wall Street Journal has reported that GM is asking the governments of the U.K., Poland and Spain for additional aid for Opel as part of a deal to keep control of Opel. German politicians and Opel’s unions oppose that plan.

Source : Automotive News

By George Gao From:Gasgoo.com

China’s Beijing Automotive Industry Corp. (BAIC) said today it had failed to reach an agreement with General Motors on the buying of GM’s Opel unit in Germany due to intellectual property issues, Reuters reported.

“In the negotiations over intellectual property, we have been in constant communications with General Motors,” the company said in a statement. “Regrettably, both parties failed to reach agreement on (the intellectual property) issue.”

In a statement released yesterday by GM Europe, the automaker’s chief negotiator John Smith said that the company has “agreed to continue detailed talks with Magna and RHJI to secure Opel’s future.” This implied that the third bidder, China’s Beijing Auto, failed to make headway in the talks.

A Beijing Auto spokesman told The Associated Press that “We have not received notification from GM” when asked whether BAIC was out of the running.

GM now will focus talks with Canadian auto-parts maker Magna International Inc (with its partner Russian lender Sberbank) and RHJ International SA, a Belgium-based investor.

Earlier this week, German government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm told a news conference that Canada’s Magna was still Germany’s preferred bidder for Opel.

Industry analysts said the German government has limited confidence in the global management skills of Beijing Auto while GM is not willing to sell its Opel brand to a Chinese carmaker to rival its profitable ventures with China’s auto giant SAIC.

* Clever packaging means more occupant comfort and space
* Distinctive exterior design cues echoed in cabin
* Quality feel throughout cabin enhanced by extensive use of premium materials

These are the first interior pictures of the Vauxhall Astra, which will debut at this September’s Frankfurt Motor Show and will reach UK dealers by late this year.

Echoing the flowing forms of its bodywork, the new Astra’s interior marks a major shift towards premium design and quality in the UK’s compact sector, and continues Vauxhall’s design evolution which started five years ago with the current Astra, followed by a further step-change last year with the launch of the Insignia.

The Astra’s interior employs the recurring wing and blade motifs that were first introduced in the Insignia and are now used in a fresh and innovative way. The blade theme is expressed in details like the gooseneck shape of the door grab handles and the trim for the gearshift moulding and steering wheel.

As you look at the Astra’s wraparound instrument panel, which embraces both front seat occupants, the wing design is immediately visible as it arcs across the cabin into the door-top mouldings. The dashboard has a black, grained finish with a subtly different texture to other mouldings in the cabin.

Ambient lighting enhances the quality feel of the cabin, with lighting points framing the gearbox surround, and providing illumination from above the centre console and within the door handle recesses, depending on trim level.

The feeling of cabin space and depth is augmented by a centre panel mounted at a shallow 30-degree angle, which sweeps down from the top of the instrument panel to the centre console, creating a flowing surface that incorporates the gearshift. Like the Insignia, the Astra’s main clocks and gauges are ringed with chrome, with the speedometer and tachometer pods angled inwards towards the driver.

Special emphasis has gone into the design and engineering of the Astra’s seats, which now have industry-leading levels of adjustment. Their height can be raised by up to 65mm, while their fore and aft range extends to 280mm, allowing all drivers and passengers to find their ideal seating position. In addition, the Ergonomic Sports Seats (standard in all Elite models) have improved tilt adjustment, four-way power lumbar support, superior side support and supporting foam pads.

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Opel/Vauxhall is on the point of launching the most important model offensive in its history. It will start with a sleeker, more upmarket Astra range (seen here undisguised for the first time), followed by all-new 2010 Meriva and 2012 Zafira models designed to maintain the marque’s strong MPV foothold across Europe.

The 2010 Opel Astra shares more than a few styling features with its larger Insignia sibling – Opel’s and Vauxhall’s replacement for the Vectra – such as the reversed character line along the bottom of the doors and similarly styled headlights.

Riding on GM’s front-wheel-drive Delta platform, the all-new Astra shares its roots with the upcoming Holden Cruze and GM’s future Chevy Volt hybrid.

The base engine will be a 1.4-liter naturally aspirated petrol unit that produces 90 horsepower, emits less then 120 grams of CO2 per kilometer, and features stop/start technology. For drivers wanting more performance, a supercharged version of this engine will be available and it will crank out 180 horsepower. On the diesel side, we can expect a 1.7-liter turbocharged engine to offer 110 horsepower.

Although technical specifications are still rather sketchy, it appears that the Astra will grow 15cm in length, feature optional all-wheel drive, and adopt the Insignia’s adaptive damping system. Among the other items included on the new Astra are an electric parking brake, adaptive lighting, and a park assistant system.

As with the current Astra, several different versions will be available. There isn’t too much information about them, but it appears the Astra Sport Tourer will be at least 20 cm longer than the standard car while the Astra GTC will likely adopt a six-cylinder engine.

Pilot-build Astras are being made now, and first cars should hit showrooms by December.

electrically propelled vehicle with more than 500 kilometers autonomy

The revolutionary Opel Ampera, which will premiere March 5 at the Geneva Motor Show, will be the first emission-free, electrically propelled automobile in Europe suitable for everyday driving. For journeys up to 60 km, the five-door, four-seat hatchback runs on electricity stored in the 16-kWh, lithium-ion battery, and emits zero CO2. When the battery’s energy is depleted, electricity from an on-board engine-generator extends the Ampera’s range to more than 500 km.

Opel To Reveal Ampera Electric Car At Geneva Motor Show

Opel Ampera to feature innovative GM Voltec technology

Rüsselsheim. Opel has announced Ampera as the name of its revolutionary extended-range electric car. The five-door, four-seat Opel Ampera will be revealed at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show (March 5-15).

“With the Ampera, Opel will be the first European automobile manufacturer to provide customers several hundred kilometers of non-stop electric driving,” said Alain Visser, GM Europe Chief Marketing Officer.

GM’s ground-breaking electric propulsion technology, called Voltec, operates differently from other advanced propulsion systems. For short trips up to 60 km, the Ampera will run only on lithium-ion battery power charged via a standard 230v outlet. For longer distances, the car will continue to drive on electricity that is generated by a small internal combustion engine.

The Ampera will be well-suited to the daily driving schedule of most European customers. For example, approximately 80 percent of German drivers travel less than 50 km daily.

Additional information on the Opel Ampera will be released March 3 at the Geneva Motor Show.

Ford of Europe said it was Europe’s second biggest selling brand after Volkswagen in 2008 despite its new-car sales falling by 7.4 percent in its major markets.

Ford’s sales in its main 19 markets fell by 115,200 units to 1.44 million last year, the company said Wednesday.

But the carmaker increased its market share by 0.1 percentage points to 8.6 percent helping it to overtake General Motor’s Opel brand as the second biggest selling marque in western Europe.

Opel’s market share fell from 8.5 percent to 7.8 percent in Western Europe’s in the first 11 months of the year.

Ford of Europe’s head of marketing, sales and service Ingvar Sviggum, said Ford’s market share success “is clear recognition of our strong product portfolio which puts us in a better position than many.”

In all 51 of its European markets, Ford’s sales dropped by 6.1 percent to 1.78 million during 2008.

The successful launch of the Fiesta small car helped the company increase market share, Ford said.

The Fiesta sold 61,000 cars in its main European 19 markets in November and December, and is now Ford’s second biggest seller after the Focus lower-medium car.

Sviggum said he was delighted the Fiesta had got off to a strong start and had become the best selling car in the UK for both November and December.

The UK remains Ford’s biggest European market, with 2008 sales of 406,100 units, down 38,500 from 2007. Germany was No. 2 with sales up 6,200 to 241,400 cars. Italy was No. 3 with sales down 33,700 190,300 cars.

Fuel-efficient small cars such as the Fiesta and the Ka minicar, which was also launched last year, put Ford in a strong position, Sviggum said.

Said Sviggum: “This gives us real confidence that the Ford brand will emerge even stronger when the economy rebounds.”

source: autonews.com

General Motors Corp. unit Adam Opel AG says it wants to put an electric car based on the technology of the Chevrolet Volt on the European market in 2011.

Opel managing director Hans Demant’s comments at the subsidiary’s main Ruesselsheim plant came as GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner unveiled the Volt in the United States, where it is due in showrooms by late 2010.

The Volt will be able to go 40 miles (nearly 65 kilometers) on a single charge from a home outlet. The batteries will be recharged by a small gasoline engine that allows the car to travel hundreds more miles.

Source : Herald Tribune