Opel 1900, page #10

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Opel to be shuttered in China, but will restart Buick production in Germany

Opel, General Motors' troubled German brand continues its quest to reinvent itself and find solid profitability. In the course of that metamorphosis, the company has a bit of good news/bad news today. The good news is, it will once again begin screwing together Buick models for the American market. The bad news, though, is that it's being shut down in yet another country, China.
Let's start with the good news. The last vehicle Opel's Ruesselsheim factory built for the North American market was the early run of the then-new Regal, which is based heavily on the Opel Insignia. Production ran for just over two years, from 2009 to 2011, before moving production to Oshawa, Ontario.
Now, thanks to a 245-million-euro investment (just over $336 million), Opel will kick off production of a unspecified model for the US in the "second half of the decade," according to Automotive News. According to Opel, the new model will be announced before the end of 2014. You can begin your speculation about this new model down in Comments (we're wagering it'll be the Cascada convertible, sold here under the Buick umbrella).

Opel putting Astra Extreme into production

Even more than in years past, this month's Geneva Motor Show press days were absolutely teeming with lust-worthy hot hatches. There was the new Seat Leon Cupra, the Honda Civic Type R concept, Volkswagen Scirocco R and Golf GTE, Audi S1 and Abarth 695 Biposto. But one of the most enticing of them all was the Opel Astra OPC Extreme.
Effectively a roadgoing version of the Astra OPC Cup racer, the Extreme is a track car for the road that packs a 2.0-liter turbo four tuned up to 300 horsepower and little else - and by that we mean it's been all stripped out and geared up for hardcore performance.
We have to admit that we were a little bummed when General Motors stated that the Astra OPC Extreme was just for show at the moment. But word coming in from Autocar suggests that, based on positive public reception at the Swiss show, it has already been approved for production.

Opel Meriva gets refreshed with more chrome and new diesel

Opel's Meriva hatchback has received a slight refresh at the Geneva Motor Show with new styling and two tunes of a new 1.6-liter diesel engine. Its tech gets a slight upgrade as well with better smartphone integration for the infotainment system.
The Meriva still features its suicide opening doors that Opel claims makes ingress and egress from the rear easier. The refresh also gives the hatchback a grille with more chrome, slightly altered headlights, LED running lights and chrome trim along the bottom of the side windows.
The biggest changes for the Meriva are mechanical. Opel has added its new 1.6-liter CDTI diesel available with either 134 horsepower or 109 hp. The less powerful version emits 99 grams of CO2 per 100 kilometers, which allows it to take advantage of lower taxes in much of Europe. The model's five- and six-speed manuals have also been improved with a low friction material to make shifting easier.

Opel Adam S and Adam Rocks make us want GM's Euro city car even more [w/poll]

There aren't a lot of products that General Motors offers overseas that we don't get back in America in one form or another, but the Opel Adam stands as a notable exception. GM's assault on the fashionable city car market, the Adam isn't likely to find its way to US showrooms... even if it does pick up a Buick badge on its way to China. But as if its elusive status didn't make us long for it already, Opel and its British counterpart Vauxhall just revealed two new versions in Geneva that make us want it even more.
First up we have the Adam Rocks, a variant of the stylish little hatchback that not only blows the roof off, but also gives it a beefier, off-road attitude. Up top it's got a similar opening roof panel to what you'd find on rivals like the Fiat 500C or Citroën DS3 Cabrio, but down below it's got more muscular body cladding, skid plates and 17- or 18-inch wheels fitted to a suspension that rides half an inch higher.
Taking a different approach to the same vehicle is the Adam S, which bolts a turbocharger onto the car's otherwise naturally aspirated 1.4-liter four to crank out 148 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque that puts it right in between the Fiat 500 Turbo and Abarth (which are sold as two stages of Abarth overseas) in terms of output. It's also got massive 16-inch brakes stuffed into 18-inch wheels, an upgraded aero kit and other sportier touches.

Opel Performance Center takes Astra to the Extreme [w/video]

If hot hatches are your thing, this year's Geneva Motor Show is the place to be. Seat used the occasion to reveal its Ring-running Leon Cupra. Not to be outdone, Honda showed up with its Civic Type R concept. VW has got the new Scirocco R and Golf GTE to show off, Audi finally bestowed the new S1 upon us and Abarth transformed the Fiat 500 into the bonkers 695 Biposto. Even Alfa Romeo got in on the action with the latest QV edition MiTo and Giulietta. But the lineup wouldn't be complete without the Opel Astra OPC Extreme.
Arguably the ultimate expression from the Opel Performance Center, the Astra Extreme packs a 2.0-liter turbo four with 300 horsepower, a six-speed stick and limited-slip differential underneath the most outlandishly extreme aero kit this side of a DTM racer. Everything's made of carbon fiber and the cabin's stripped out for business to make it 220 pounds lighter than the standard Astra OPC/VXR and closer in spirit and appearance to the Astra OPC Cup that challenges the VLN series at the Nürburgring.
It's a beast of a hot hatch if there ever was one, but at the moment, the press release below describes it as a "study for low-volume production." We just hope Opel and its British sister Vauxhall will actually make it, but even then, it's not likely to ever find its way across the Atlantic, even with those giant wings. Indulge in the Opel madness with the video below.

Buick Adam a reality after all... but only in China

General Motors may have parred down its brand portfolio, but it still has more under its umbrella than most. That's why, while a company like Ford might market the same vehicle under its own name in markets around the world, GM uses different brands in different markets. But no two are aligned quite as closely as Opel in Europe and Buick in the United States and China.
What we know here as the Buick Regal is sold overseas as the Opel Insignia. Our Encore is their Mokka. Verano? Astra sedan. But one thing we don't get here is the Opel Adam. The diminutive city car is GM's take on the Mini Cooper, Fiat 500, Citroën DS3 et al. Launched at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, the Opel Adam is named after the company's founder (like an ironic thumbing of the nose to the Ferrari Enzo). But while it's sold, like most Opels, in the UK as a Vauxhall, the prospect of it porting over to Buick seems slim to none. Right?
Sorta. While the Adam isn't likely to come Stateside, the latest reports (as yet unconfirmed by GM) suggest that The General is planning to sell the Adam in China where the Buick brand is also a strong seller. Local production could ensue, with prices targeting the Fiat 500 and engines - according to CarNewsChina.com - to include inline-fours displacing 1.2 and 1.4 liters with 69 and 100 horsepower, respectively.

Vauxhall reveals stripped-out Astra VXR Extreme front-drive track toy

More power, less weight. It's a winning formula when it comes to performance automobiles, and one we've seen applied time and time again. It's what Ferrari did to transform the 360 Modena into the Challenge Stradale, the F430 into the Scuderia and the 458 into the Speciale. Maserati does the same with the GranTurismo MC Stradale and Lamborghini with the Gallardo Superleggera. We could go on, but you get the point: it's a formula typically applied to exotic Italian supercars, but of course it's not exclusively their realm.
Taking up the opposite end of the spectrum is the new Astra Extreme, the hardcore new hot hatch which GM's European operations will unveil shortly at the Geneva Motor Show. To be sold by Vauxhall in the UK as the Astra VXR Extreme and by Opel in Europe as the Astra OPC Extreme, the hottest of hot hatches takes the Astra Cup racer to the street with extreme aero and lightweight components.
General Motors has shed a good 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of excess weight through the use of carbon-fiber components. The roof, hood, engine cover and suspension bracing are all made of the lightweight stuff. The same goes for the aero kit, complete with front splitter, rear wing and underbody diffuser. Even the 19-inch wheels are made of carbon fiber, packing Brembo brakes that measure 14.6 inches with six-piston calipers up front. Even the cabin has been stripped out, dumping the rear seats in favor of a roll cage, with Recaro buckets and six-point harnesses up front. All that, and it's still (Euro) street legal.

Opel Astra OPC Extreme snapshots whetting our appetites

Opel has used its Facebook page to show off more of the woven carbon fiber bits that will adorn its Astra OPC Extreme, promised to be the fastest production car it has ever made available to the public. Utilizing lessons learned during last year's campaigns with the Astra Cup spec-series car, it looks like every exterior component gets reworked in order to make the street-legal most of the turbocharged 2.0-liter that is expected to dispense over 300 horsepower through the front wheels (the standard OPC has 280).
The cabin goes hardcore, too, with racing seats, six-point harnesses and a roll cage. We'll get to see all of it in person at Geneva Motor Show in a couple of weeks before it begins its limited production run, so stay tuned.

Opel/Vauxhall bringing production Adam Rocks softroader to Geneva

Sliding canvas roof panels have become the new fad among stylish European hatchbacks. Again. While Mini has stuck with full convertibles, Fiat rolled it out with the 500C and Citroën followed suit with its DS3 Cabrio. But rather than simply cruise down the same road, GM's European operations have taken things a step further with the introduction of the new Adam Rocks.
Previewed (to evidently positive reception) in concept form at last year's Geneva Motor Show, the Adam Rocks does more than add that canvas roof: it also gives the little city car a more rugged appeal. Most obvious is the dark gray lower body cladding with satin chrome trim, its trapezoidal grille bisected by a chrome bar. But the suspension has also been retuned, riding over half an inch higher and sitting wider on 17- or available 18-inch alloys. You'll also find integrated fog lamps, rear roof spoiler and skid plates front and back. That three-layer roof takes just five seconds to operate, opening up the ruggedized cabin.
The Adam Rocks model also introduces a new 1.0-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine, which will be available across the Adam range with either 90 horsepower or 115 and mated to a six-speed manual transmission. As with many of GM's European products, the Adam Rocks will be sold by Vauxhall in the UK and by Opel in Europe and other overseas markets.

Astra OPC Extreme to be fastest Opel ever

A racecar for the road. Usually that statement is nothing more than marketing, but Opel may have actually done it with its Astra OPC Extreme. It promises that the hot hatch is the fastest production Astra it has ever sold.
The Extreme starts as a standard Astra OPC with 280 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque from a 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder, then gets upgrades from the Astra OPC Cup racecar from the VLN Nürburgring Endurance Championship. The upgrades include carbon fiber components to cut weight, an integrated roll cage, racing seats, six-point seatbelts and racing-inspired livery. Opel says that its hottest hatch has done 10,000 kilometers (6,214 miles) of testing on the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
The Extreme will launch at the Geneva Motor Show in March and will have a limited production run later this year. Obviously, it will be limited only to Europe, so don't get your hopes up. You can scroll down to read all of the details about Opel's race-ready road car.