Opel
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Opel has been thrown a lifeline in the form of greater access to the growing Russian car market, with parent company General Motors integrating its Russian operations with its European unit, which is headed by Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann, who also happens to be CEO of Opel. Currently, the Russian operations are handled by a unit based in Shanghai, China. General Motors Company [NYSE:GM] claims the move is an important step to strengthen the position of Opel on the Russian market. The switchover will come into effect on January 1, 2014. Russia is currently Opel’s third biggest market but...
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Opel Monza Concept Live Photos: 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show
It’s make or break time for Opel, which is about to embark on an ambitious strategy to launch 23 new models and 13 new powertrains over the coming years in the hope that it can finally reach profitability after years of running billion dollar losses. The new Monza concept is a preview of...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Updated Insignia OPC joins 2013 Opel Insignia range
General Motors Company’s [NYSE:GM] European unit Opel is introducing an updated version of its Insignia range of sedans, wagons and liftback hatch at next month’s 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show. The Insignia is essentially the Buick Regal’s European twin, and just as the Regal has a...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Opel Monza Concept Revealed Ahead Of Frankfurt Debut: Video
Opel’s new Monza concept, set for a debut at next month’s 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show, looks more like a shooting brake than a traditional coupe. The concept previews the future design direction for General Motors’ struggling European unit and is the first Opel designed from the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Opel Releases New Image Of Its Monza Concept
General Motors’ European division Opel is preparing a new concept car for the 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show inspired by its original Monza GT from the 1980s. Today, the German automaker released a new image of the concept, which is also called the Monza. The latest Monza concept is a large coupe...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Opel Monza Coupe Concept Coming To Frankfurt: Report
Opel is reportedly set on bringing a rear-wheel-drive coupe to the market. The concept version of this should be arriving to wow crowds at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show, and an early report from AutoExpress suggests the vehicle could take on the likes of the BMW 4-Series and the Audi A5. This...
Jeff Glucker -
Joining the updated Opel Insignia range at the 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show in September will be the all-new Insignia Country Tourer, revealed today as the Opel brand’s new flagship. The vehicle is based on the Insignia Sports Tourer station wagon but gets some off-roading attributes such as taller ground clearance and protective body elements. Opel was prompted to develop the car following the success of the smaller Mokka crossover, sold here as the Buick Encore. The Insignia Country Tourer now meets the demand of Opel customers seeking a toughened-up vehicle with a little extra cargo...
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Major Shakeup At GM Design, Single Designer To Lead Buick And Opel
General Motors has announced several key changes affecting its design operations, most of which are aimed at improving cohesion across the automaker’s global design studios and strengthening the attributes of its individual brand identities. Crucially, the automaker states that the changes...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Buick And Opel Link To Become Stronger, Says GM CEO
Buick currently sells three vehicles that were originally conceived as Opels, and by the looks of things it's set to have more. Buick’s latest Encore, Regal and Verano models all share their underpinnings and most of their bodywork with models sold overseas as Opels (Vauxhalls if you’re...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Updated Opel Insignia Revealed Ahead Of 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show
Opel’s flagship Insignia sedan, hatch and Sports Tourer wagon have received a slew of updates as part of their respective mid-cycle refreshes. The updated cars won't make their debut until the 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show in September but have been revealed today in full. The changes follow those...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
GM Commits Further $5.2 Billion To Opel Turnaround
General Motors has given another sign of its commitment to turning around the sales performance at Opel by announcing today it will invest a further 4 billion euros (approximately $5.2 billion) in the struggling European automaker. The investment, which will span the next four years, is designed to...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
GM Appoints Former Volkswagen Exec To Head Troubled Opel
Last summer, General Motors’ European unit Opel made the surprise announcement that its chief, Karl-Friedrich Stracke, was being reassigned to a new role, and that its turnaround expert, Steve Girsky, would fill in as interim chief. Since then, we’ve seen Opel enter an alliance deal...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
General Motors’ European division Opel is preparing an updated version of its flagship Insignia range as part of the model’s mid-cycle update, and we now have more spy shots of the updated Insignia Sports Tourer wagon variant testing in the wild. The Insignia, in sedan trim, is the European cousin of the Buick Regal, which is slated to receive similar updates to the ones seen here for the 2014 model year. There’s also a slight chance that a version of the Insignia Sports Tourer you see here could be offered in the U.S. as a new Regal Sport Wagon, with prototypes of the car...
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Opel Gives Update On Restructuring Plans
Despite facing some of the slowest sales in decades in its home market, Opel remains committed to ending its money-losing ways, primarily by forming alliances and launching new models and technology. Today, at the start of production for its new Adam minicar, the General Motors Company [NYSE:GM]...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
GM And Peugeot Revise Alliance Deal, Plan New Engines
In March of this year, General Motors and France’s PSA Peugeot Citroen Group, two companies faced with overcapacity issues in Europe, surprised the automotive world by forming a strategic alliance, with GM even buying a 7 percent stake in the struggling French automaker. In October, they...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Opel Returns To Motorsports With New One-Make Series
Opel, General Motors’ loss-making European division, is attempting to build excitement for its new Adam minicar by announcing a new one-make racing series. Called the Opel Adam Cup, the new race series, which starts competition next year, will mark Opel’s official return to motorsports...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
GM And PSA Peugeot Citroen Announce New Vehicle Projects
Following their initial alliance announcement made in March of this year, the heads of General Motors and France’s PSA Peugeot Citroen have announced an update on the deal, which included the confirmation of the joint development of four new vehicle projects. The four new vehicle projects are...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2013 Opel Cascada Revealed
Though it wasn’t at the recent Paris Auto Show, as we had expected, Opel’s new Astra convertible, the Cascada, has been revealed in full today and is confirmed for a sales launch in Europe next spring. What hasn’t been confirmed yet is whether the Cascada will be sold in the U.S...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
In March of this year General Motors made the surprise move of forming an alliance with PSA Peugeot Citroen by purchasing seven percent of the French automaker’s stock. The original deal was structured around two main pillars: the sharing of vehicle platforms, components and modules; and joint purchasing of commodities, components and other goods required to build cars. Unfortunately, Europe’s worsening financial crisis has seen PSA’s outlook--and its stock price--drop since then, but despite this GM remains committed to its original deal and may see its alliance deepen...
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2014 Buick Regal Spy Shots
A prototype of an updated Buick Regal has been spotted testing in Europe alongside the car’s European twin, the Opel Insignia. The blacked-out waterfall grille gives away this particular prototype’s identity, though most of the changes remain masked under camouflage. The vehicle is on...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Opel Astra Cabrio To Be Called Cascada, Debut In Paris
We’ve been spying prototypes of the convertible version of the Opel Astra for almost a year, and now we’re just a few weeks out from the car’s debut at the 2012 Paris Auto Show. In the lead up to its unveiling, Opel has confirmed that the car will simply be called the Cascada...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2013 Opel Astra Cabrio Spy Video
GM’s European division Opel is working on a new convertible version of its popular Astra compact, a prototype of which has been spotted in Southern Spain looking almost production ready. Opel has already released a teaser image of the new car, which is expected to make its official world...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2013 Opel Astra Cabrio Spy Shots
There's been no confirmation but the Opel Astra Cabrio, along with its Astra GTC sibling, may reach the U.S. in the near future as Buicks.
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2014 Buick Regal GS Spy Shots
A masked prototype of the Buick Regal’s European twin, the Opel Insignia, has been testing in Europe for the past several months, suggesting that an update for the car is planned. This makes sense as the Insignia, which first went on sale in 2008, is about due for its mid-cycle update. While...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran