Opel has officially pulled the sheet off of its new Insignia, which is liable to come to the U.S. after its European launch as the newest version of the Saturn Aura. While we thought that we had seen all there was to offer on the sleek four-door sedan, our friends at CarPix have delivered up a few images of a brand new variant to the range, a five-door hatchback.
The totally undisguised hatch, possibly to be known as the CombiCoupe or Fliessheck, mimics the lines of the sedan everywhere but the rear section. The liftgate of the new Insignia looks to be of good size, and promises to add a measure of utility to the car that won’t be possible with a mere truck. Why doesn’t everyone offer a five-door?
No word of course about whether this configuration could make it to American Saturn dealers, though the GM brand’s recent willingness to stock its showrooms with straight Euro copies is encouraging. Tell us what you think of the car, after browsing our gallery below, in comments.
After a variety of leaks, official and unofficial, General Motors’ European Opel brand has gone ahead and released the full specification for its new Insignia ahead of the car’s official debut at the London Motor Show this summer.
Though it’s still unclear exactly which engine lineup will be available if the Insignia makes the leap to the U.S. as a Saturn product, Opel has given us the range for the car’s European spec. The Insignia will offer a choice of three diesels and four gasoline engines, topped off by a 260 horsepower V-6. The diesels will all displace 2.0-liters and will offer between 110 and 160 horsepower. Available transmissions will include manual and automatic six-speeds all around.
Check our gallery below for the first official Insignia photos and then tell us what you think of the potential Saturn product, in comments.
While we’ve been seeing the new Opel Insignia (and probably future Saturn Aura) in various forms of spy photograph for a while now, nothing has been quite so blatant as this latest batch of images released by AutoWeek.nl.
The website has given us fully undisguised images of the car as well as some basic technical specification. The Vectra will be made available with a range of diesel and gasoline engines, from 1.6 to 2.8-liters in displacement. At the top of the line will be a 2.8-liter V-6 making 250 horsepower, though there’s talk of adding a 2.9-liter V-6 diesel at some point as well.
While we still don’t know what would be making the trip across the Atlantic to land in Saturn dealerships, we can expect that it we’ll be seeing the car about a year later than Europe.
If you’ve got an idea for Question of the Day, a funny photo for Caption It, or just want to share a news tip, let us know at windingroadtips@gmail.com
Opel seems to be following the new automaker trend of taking an ownership roll in its own “spy shots,” by releasing the images to the media themselves. The German company has just released a series of images that chronicle the process behind outfitting a car with camouflage for testing in the public eye.
This time the car in question is the Opel Insignia, which is destined to replace the Vectra in Europe, and is quite likely to come to the U.S. under the auspices of the Saturn brand. We have already caught a few real spy shots of the car, but still can enjoy the tongue-in-cheek goodness of the Opel send-up. Enjoy our gallery below.
If you’ve got an idea for Question of the Day, a funny photo for Caption It, or just want to share a news tip, let us know at windingroadtips@gmail.com
It seems as if Saturn is continuing its pattern of bringing the latest in Opel hotness over to the U.S., as the clandestine photogs of Brenda Priddy & Company have captured another future Saturn testing in the American Southwest.
Seen here is the production version of the Opel GTC concept that was shown at Geneva in 2007, with a couple of doors and a layer of camouflage added. This car will most likely be the European follow up to the Opel Vectra, set to be called Insignia, and will likely come to the U.S. as the next iteration of Saturn’s Aura.
Saturn’s corporate face seems to have been grafted onto the cool GTC body and is riding on GM’s new Epsilon 2 platform. While Opel’s version of the car will probably go on sale late in the year as a 2009 model, chances are Saturn dealers will have to wait just a bit longer for the car. Check out the rest of the images in our gallery below, and click through the jump to read the shooter’s take on the test car.
No, it’s not the Saturn Flextreme, it’s the Opel Meriva. This Euro-only car won’t be utilizing the E-flex powertrain of the Flextreme Concept, but, instead a 1.4-liter turbocharged I-4 motor.
The Meriva has even got some cool suicide-door action (Flexdoors). There’s no timeline on Opel’s compact, but we doubt it’ll come stateside as a Saturn anytime soon. Check out our gallery of the Meriva at the Geneva Motor Show below.
If you’ve got an idea for Question of the Day, a funny photo for Caption It, or just want to share a news tip, let us know at windingroadtips@gmail.com
If you mistook this for the Saturn (or Opel) Flexstream concept, you’re forgiven. As wild as the Flexstream’s styling was, the Meriva attempts to apply its design language to a more production-intent vehicle.
A hint at the next-generation Meriva, this concept isn’t much larger than the current model, yet - in person - seems to be larger; at a glance, we’d wager it’s sized closer to the larger Zafira.
The Geneva Motor Show may allow automakers the chance to celebrate their latest and greatest offerings or idea cars, but for German tuner Irmscher, it marks a celebration of their heritage. 2008 marks the 40th anniversary of the firm’s existence, and to celebrate four decades of tuning mostly Opels, Irmscher brought two mean examples - a slick-looking Opel Antara (Saturn Vue in North America) SUV and a racy V-8 powered Opel GT (aka Saturn Sky).
Arguably, the GT i40 is the more interesting of the two models, especially since this example’s fully decked out in anniversary graphics. The “6808″ graphic, arranged in a racing stripe pattern, repeats on the hood and rear decklid, as well as making appearances on small emblems and on the tire tread itself. The look isn’t unclean, but we’re more concerned with what lies beneath.
In this case, it’s a 6.0-liter GM small-block V-8, tuned to crank out a more-than-substantial 480 PS. Irmscher also modifies the suspension, rear axle and gearbox to handle the power from such a mill, while driver and passenger are treated to a modified leather-trimmed interior.
(Click through for a gallery on both cars, and more on Irmscher’s Antara)
We’re busy covering the ins and outs of the Chicago auto show, but already we’re hearing of GM’s plans for the Geneva show next month. Although three world debuts are slated for the show, we only know a little about one - the concept for the next-generation Opel Meriva crossover.
Business Week reported that GM is considering a project dubbed the “micro-premium car”.
It is possible that GM will use a platform from one of the three Korean-engineered (Daewoo) mini cars it showcased at April’s New York Auto Show - like the Chevy Beat. But, as Business Week reported, those platforms may not offer the kind of ride American consumers would expect out of a high-priced model. Other options include using the Opel platform or a new rear-wheel platform.
Revised Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) fleet standards are just around the bend, so this may be GM’s attempt to curb its future numbers.
GM’s tiny-sized wonder would square off against the Mini Cooper, Audi A3, and the BMW 1-Series. There was no mention under what brand the small auto would fall under. Any takers on a mini-sized Cadillac?
General Motors is reporting that the move to bring the Saturn (nee Opel) Astra to the U.S. market instead of developing a new small car specifically for the States will save the company on the order of $900 million.
This revelation comes in direct contrast to years of global automakers telling customers (and themselves) that it is simply too costly to retrofit European cars to U.S. standards.
(Click through the jump to read on about The General’s savings.)
We’ve got good and bad news for you; the good news is that you really do sound good when you’re belting out your favorite song on the drive to work in the morning. The bad news is you probably don’t sound that good anywhere else.
Check out this interesting report on the acoustics of your car courtesy of Vauxhall, by clicking on the video above, then tell us what you love to sing in your car in comments.
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