Car Automotive and Design

Showing posts with label Vauxhall. Show all posts

Opel Ampera Wins 2012 Monte Carlo Rally for Electric and Alternative Propulsion Vehicles

In its debut appearance at the Monte Carlo Rally, the Chevrolet Volt's European twin, the Opel Ampera, picked up its first win in the electric and alternative propulsion category. From the seven Ampera models that competed in the rally, four finished in the top 10.

The French duo Bernard Darniche and Joseph Lambert finished first, while the Ampera teams with Charlotte Berton and Olivier Sussot ranked third, Jean-Claude Andruet and Patrick Lienne came in 7th and Hanns Werner Wirth and Daniel Riesen finished 8th.

Spy Shots: New Opel Astra Convertible Caught Out in the Open Again

Opel is sure taking its time to complete the lineup of its popular Astra model. It has already been close to three years since GM's European brand introduced the five-door hatchback, which was followed by the Sports Tourer estate, the three-door GTC and more recently, the 276hp OPC flagship sports model.

In fact, while we're still waiting for the presentation of the four door sedan (closely related to the Buick Verano) and convertible models, we found out that Opel is working on a mild update for the five-door hatch!

The Convertible model seen in these latest spy shots will enter production next year, which means that its world premiere should take place at the Paris Motor Show this fall or at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show.

European Carmakers Must Deal with the Crisis Fast or Face the Consequences

A number of European carmakers are facing the same problem: they have more facilities and employees churning out more cars than they can sell.

Automotive CEOs acknowledge the fact and understand that something needs to be done about it. Fiat’s Sergio Marchionne has often said that European carmakers must consolidate or risk going down and he is constantly trying to tie-up the Fiat-Chrysler group with another carmaker.

GM’s Dan Akerson has stated that he's fed up with losing money with Opel and Vauxhall. However, the recently formed alliance with PSA Peugeot Citroen could provide a solution to this problem.

Geneva 2012: Opel and Vauxhall Make a Mokka out of the Buick Encore

General Motors has set its eyes on the small crossover market with the new Mokka that will be sold in Britain under the Vauxhall brand and the rest of the continent as an Opel.

The European version of the North American Buick Encore, which made its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show, will compete against the Nissan Juke and the soon-to-be revealed in production form, Ford EcoSport.

The 4.28 meter long B-segment crossover has seating for five passengers and will be offered with a choice of front- or all-wheel drive.

Chevy Volt and Opel Ampera win 2012 European Car of the Year Award

The Chevrolet Volt and its sister model, the Ampera, which is sold as under both the Opel and Vauxhall nameplates, have won the 2012 European Car of the Year (COTY) Award with 330 points.

Coming into second place was the Volkswagen Up! city car with 281 points while the new generation of the Ford Focus finished third with 256 points.

The other cars that made it to the final round of the competition were the Range Rover Evoque (186 points), Fiat Panda (156 points), Citroen DS5 (144 points) and the Toyota Yaris (122 points).

The competition brought together votes from 59 automotive journalists in 23 European countries.