Geneva 2010: Opel Flextreme GT/E Concept

Opel will unveil its Flextreme GT/E concept car next month at the 80th Geneva Motor Show. The car features the same extended-range drivetrain as Chevrolet Volt and Opel Ampera. The idea is to illustrate how extended-range electric vehicle (E-REV) technology can be plugged into larger vehicles.

The Flextreme GT/E has a projected drag co-efficient of just 0.22, which helps it reach a top speed over 200 km/h.

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Opel Corsa Color Race Edition starts at 15,560 euros

GM’s European division Opel has released a new exclusive edition of the Corsa called “Color Race”, that is inspired from the late 1960s - early 1970s Rallye Kadett B Sprint.

Corsa Color Race is available in three Sunny Melon Yellow, Casablanca White and Magma Red, all featuring a black hood and roof, and checkered-flag decals.

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Geneva preview: 2011 Vauxhall Meriva

Vauxhall has released first images of the all-new 2011 Meriva (known as Opel Meriva outside of UK), that will make its public debut in March at the Geneva Motor Show.

The new Meriva, is the first Vauxhall/Opel to feature FlexDoors, showcased in 2008’s Meriva design concept.

FlexDoors are rear-hinged back doors which swing open towards the back of the car at an angle of nearly 90 degrees, vastly improving the ease with which occupants enter and leave the cabin.

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Carbon Black makeover for Aston Martin DBS and V12 Vantage

Top of the range Aston Martin DBS and V12 Vantage have undergone a unique Carbon Black makeover to create a highly desirable special edition.

Both cars feature a bespoke Carbon Black metallic paint especially formulated with a subtle metallic twist to create a deep rich patina. Each car will undergo 50 man-hours of hand painting followed by stringent quality checks.

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Insignia Sports Tourer OPC by Steinmetz is the fastest Opel in the world

The High Performance Event by Continental and Auto Bild Sportscars at Italy’s 12 km Nardo circuit brings new records every year.

At this year’s event tuner Steinmetz set a new speed record for street-legal Opel vehicles. Their Insignia Sports Tourer OPC hit a top speed of 287.4 km/h (178.6 mph), making it the fastest Opel ever built.

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New Opel Corsa ecoFLEX consumes only 3.7 liters per 100 km/m (71.3 mpg)

From January new Opel Corsa ecoFLEX will go on sale. This little hatchback is all about fuel efficiency. Power comes from a 1.3-liter CDTI turbo diesel that produces 95 horsepower and uses only 3.7 liters of fuel to travel 100 km, releaseing just 98g/km of CO2 on the three door version.

Compared to the previous generation model it is about 10% more fuel efficient and it has 28% more power. Pricing has not changes.

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Magna buys Opel from GM

The suspense is finally over – GM is selling Opel to Magna. But the political factor has resulted in a rider. It has asked for governmental help and also support from the labor unions to help in the restructuring exercise. The automaker wants that the four Opel plants in Germany, which employ almost half of its 55,000-strong European work force, should be kept open.

Negotiations with the IG Metall union are expected to take time and be tough. At the same time, The German government has not specified as to the amount it will commit to the deal though it had earlier given figures of between €4.5 billion, or $6.5 billion, in loan guarantees.

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Rendering of 2010 Opel Meriva

The 2010 Opel Meriva MPV has been caught by cameras, but almost always with some sort of camouflage, not being fully visible. However, all those spy shots and computer imagery have got together to give a computer rendering of what the actual car probably will look like.

It has a simple and attractive front fascia, minimalist outlines with an almost hidden tailpipe at the rear, the removal of the rear roof spoiler and having an antenna instead. The windows of the concept car are fancier and more angular with an hour-glass shaped rear hatch.

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GM will not sell Opel to the Chinese

Talks between GM and Beijing Automotive Industry Holding (BAIC) have come to a standstill as the two are unable to reach an agreement on the negotiations regarding intellectual property rights issues. BAIC has now lost the race to acquire GM’s German unit Adam Opel GmbH, and GM a negotiating stance.

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China and Russia fighting over Vauxhall

Magna which has made a serious offer for GM’s Vauxhall backed by Russia’s Sberbank has a competitor in Beijing Automotive Industry Corporation (BAIC) of China. So there are technically two countries bidding for the iconic GM, which is an American representative – though it is GM Europe they are bidding for.

China’s bid is for €650 million for UK’s Vauxhall and Germany’s Opel, both from the GM stable. Even though GM had earlier rejected Fiat’s bid by the RHJ group, the group has now made a revised offer which is more to GM’s liking, thus forcing itself back into the race.

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GM bankruptcy procedure to begin tomorrow

With the deadline almost on its head it looks like a bankruptcy announcement by GM is on the cards shortly. GM had made an offer to its bondholders to trade in the bonds they were holding worth $27.2 billion in unsecured debt for a 10 percent stake in the restructured company, but they did not get an adequate response.

Though GM needed at least 90 percent of the bondholders to agree to their proposal and accept it, the value of the bonds turned in was “substantially less than the amount required by GM to satisfy the debt reduction requirement” as required by the U.S. Treasury. Had they received the requisite number of bonds, the company would have been able to qualify for more loans.

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GM’s troubles in Europe continue

Besieged from all sides, G.M. has failed to achieve a breakthrough in talks regarding its European unit, too. German and American negotiators held a marathon five hour meeting which included video conferencing, but were still unable to come to a conclusion on a bridge loan which G.M. needs for its European operations.

The Germans are understandably hesitant because they don’t want to put up money when they are not sure that G.M.’s European assets will be protected from its bankruptcy proceedings in the U.S. “We don’t have the assurances we need to approve a bridge loan,” said Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, the German economy minister. They are also put off by the fact that G.M. has asked for $418 million more than the agreed upon €1.5 billion from Berlin.

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The new Opel Astra

At the Frankfurt Motor Show the new Opel Astra 2010 will be unveiled. The car has many new features including a front camera system which is able to recognize roadside signage and lane departure warning system.

The car features Advanced Forward Lighting bi-xenon headlights and Opel’s FlexRide system which allows the driver to pick between three driving settings — standard, Sport and Tour. Plus the customer will be able to select the engine from a range of diesel and gasoline variants. Loe edasi »

Spy shots: 2011 Opel Meriva SUV prototype

Next-generation Opel Meriva with new flexdoor system(Opel’s version of suicide doors) will debut in September at the Frankfurt Auto Show. Now we have proof that Opel engineers are also working on a SUV version of the Meriva.

This prototype was spotted in Germany and should go on sale beginning of 2011.

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First official images and details about the Insignia OPC/VXR

GM has unveiled first details about the Opel Insignia OPC , that in UK will be sold as Vauxhall Insignia VXR. Power comes from a turbocharged 2.8-liter V6 engine that packs 325 horsepower.

0-62 mph(0-100 km/) comes in 6 seconds and the top speed is electronically limited at 155 mph (250 km/h).

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