Umm, About That General Motors MPV Mule…

It seems as if the ball was called just a bit too early on a set of spy shots sent to us recently by Brenda Priddy & Company, as the MPV mule that had been spotted on its way out of the General Motors proving ground has since been discovered to not be a GM product at all.
 
Initial speculation had it that the mule seen here was the first look at GM new global MPV preparing for a future of battling with such worldly people movers as Mazda’s 5, Volkswagen’s Touran, and Opel’s Zafira. That seemingly good guess was given a healthy dose of probability by the car’s being spotted just leaving GM’s Milford, Michigan test facility.
 
(Click through the jump to read more including Priddy’s new take on the mysterious MPV.)

Now the perspective of just a bit of time has seemingly proven the initial speculations to be false, as Priddy circulated and email today stating that she now believes the MPV to be a product of China’s Roewe. GM is apparently assisting Roewe with the research and development of the vehicle, which goes a long way to explaining why the Chinese car ended up in Milford.

Priddy predicts that the launch of the Chinese MPV will be sometime around 2010, with the Geneva Motor Show being a likely venue for a vehicle looking to compete on the Euro scene.

Roewe’s new MPV had us all fooled:The clues were all in.But they steered us in the wrong direction.We were analyzing a UAW agreement from 2007. Taking mental measurements and logically identifying a vehicle based on all the above, and – what seemed most important at the time – location, location, location!

I mean – it made sense that the Euro-sized MPV that left the General Motor’s Proving Grounds would be their all-new global people mover. But what we didn’t count on was General Motor’s relationship with the Chinese automaker, Roewe.
After watching Roewe successfully introduce the 550 model at the recent Beijing Auto Show, we realized that they’re now going full throttle at developing another model that the Asians hope will be liked by European customers: a five-seater MPV with a European design.

Although we caught this as it was leaving GM’s facilities in Michigan, we’re now convinced this is Roewe’s answer to the Mazda 5, VW’s Touran and the Opel Zafira. In some ways it’s as if General Motor is competing with itself, but they apparently are assisting with the R&D of the newest MPV from their friends in China.

All other details remain secrets at this stage. Name and launch-date, engines and equipment – we can really only guess: A good bet would be a three-digit figure as a name (770? 880?) and an official presentation at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. Engine-wise we might see petrol-units between 100 and 150 bhp plus oil-burners in the usual sizes. We don’t believe a third row of seats belonging to the standard equipment – but it could well be offered as an option.

Brenda Priddy