Opel GTC Concept: A Future Saturn?
By Michelle Krebs March 5, 2007
GENEVA, Switzerland -- Picture General Motorsâ Opel GTC concept car with a Saturn badge, and youâll see a future Saturn midsize car.
On the eve of the first press day of the Geneva Motor Show, General Motors’ European subsidiary, Opel, unveiled its GTC concept car that strongly hints at the next-generation Vectra and, according to GM’s European head of design, Bryan Nesbitt, speaks a new design language for Opel in the future.
Ditto for Saturn since Saturn and Opel are closely aligned.
Saturn is basing its vehicles on Opel models and Opel designs. And vice versa. The Aura, which won the 2007 North American Car of the Year award from journalists, is based on the Vectra. Saturn unveiled the Astra small car at the Chicago auto show last month; it sprang from the Opel of the same name. Saturnâs upcoming Vue is patterned after the Opel Antara crossover. And the soon-to-go-on-sale Opel GT in Europe is based on the Saturn Sky (and Pontiac Solstice).
Opel (Vauxhall in the U.K.) and Saturn are on similar tracks to success. Saturn, last month, reported a 60-percent increase in sales. GM, as it is in the U.S., is trying to reduce the number of fleet vehicles sold by Opel/Vauxhall in Europe and, instead, focus on retail sales. Opel/Vauxhall accounted for 78 percent and 1.56 million units of GMâs European sales. For the first time in history, GM hit the 2-million mark for European sales in 2006.
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When you compare Vauxhall to other car makes it is no wonder they have recently been doing so well they give a much better value for money than their competitors plus Vauxhall engines are very durable.
Hmmm. Not close enough to be any good, but it seems to me that some styling cues have come from the early days of the new Nissan GT-R project. Still, if you're going to pilfer ideas, where better?
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