Top Nice Cars: Opel

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Opel Launches New Corsa “Kaleidoscope” Edition in Europe

With the fourth generation of the Opel Corsa entering its sixth year in the market, the German automaker is trying to beef up interest in the supermini with the release of another special edition version.

This one is called "Kaleidoscope" and it affords a more individualized look to the Corsa.

The Kaleidoscope is available with a choice of two special metallic exterior colors called "pepperdust" and "technical grey", which are combined with glossy black roof, black mirror housings and for the first time, a black grille frame. It also rides on dark 17-inch wheels and gets chrome exhaust pipes.

GM regained the title of the world’s number one automotive group in 2011, but its European division losses must have surely dampened the celebrations.

In fact, the Wall Street Journal reported this week that General Motors is losing its patience with Opel and Vauxhall after their fourth quarter losses and wants to make deeper cuts – and fast. The newspaper cited an unnamed GM source as saying that “if Opel is going to get fixed, it is going to get fixed now and cuts are going to get deep.”

Opel may have been responsible for the development of the Astra being the first to launch the five-door hatchback, Sports Tourer station wagon and three-door GTC variants amongst GM's global brands, but there's one body style it will be the last to get and that's the four-door sedan model.

The Astra sedan essentially made its debut as the new Buick Excelle GT in China back in the summer of 2010 followed by the North American 2012 Buick Verano at last year's Detroit Motor Show.

Now, our spies bring us pictures of the Opel Astra model while testing in Germany. There's no camouflage up front so we can see that the Opel-flavored version sports the same fascia as the European Astra.

The automaker's engineers covered the rear end, but from what we can tell, the only differences with the Buick models concern the tail lamp graphics and possibly the removal of the chrome eyebrows to create a more three-dimensional look, along with a differen license plate holder and the incorporation of a spoiler lip to the boot.

If you're into cars, then it's very likely that you're also into racing games like the PS3's Gran Turismo, the Xbox 360's Forza or online sims like iRacing.

Since most auto enthusiasts / gamers want to play in an environment as close to reality as possible, they usually end up swapping the regular controller for a steering wheel, pedal and gearbox set and the couch for a racing seat - chassis combo.

However, some gamers take the idea to far more extremes, like YouTube user "NBJAG" who is currently in the process of creating a real life simulator using the interior and parts of the exterior of a first generation Opel Astra from the 1990s with the Thrusmaster T500 RS steering, pedal and TH8 gearbox bundle.

It surely came as no surprise to General Motors executives that their European division is once again, bleeding cash. After all, they knew that Opel and Vauxhall had already lost US$580 million in the first nine months of 2011.

However, as the Wall Street Journal reports, they weren’t prepared for the “horrendous” fourth quarter losses. Therefore, despite declaring last week that it is determined to turn around Opel, GM is now seriously reconsidering its options.

According to the report, an unnamed GM official said on Tuesday that the U.S. group is almost fed up with its European brands’ inability to make progress: “There is an increasing frustration with Opel and a feeling that the cuts two years ago did not go deep enough. If Opel is going to get fixed, it is going to get fixed now and the cuts are going to be deep.”

After the new Mokka shots [pun intended], Opel's Geneva Motor Show presentation continues with some fresh pictures of the brand-new Astra GTC, which will be marketed as the Vauxhall Astra VXR in the United Kingdom.

The most powerful (regular production) Astra ever is based on the sporty-looking Astra GTC three-door hatch and features a 2.0-litre turbocharged direct injection engine developing 280PS (276hp/206kW) and a maximum torque of 400 Nm (295 lb-ft).

We've already showed you the Mokka small crossover but today, Opel and its sister brand Vauxhall published a fresh set of photos including the first shots of the interior.

We'll remind you that the Opel Mokka and the Buick Encore that was revealed at last month's Detroit Motor Show are one and the same with the only differences concerning the design of the front grille, the interior trims and the available engine choices.

Last September, during the Frankfurt Motor Show, General Motors executives were confident that their European operations were following the company’s restructuring plan to the letter and would break even.

Less than two months later, real-world results proved them wrong. In the first nine months of 2011, GM's European operations lost US$580 million before interest and taxes. Breaking even went down the drain.

In addition, restructuring, closing the Antwerp plant and cutting 5,800 jobs through September 2011, cost the company US$900 million. And that’s not all: its European division has cost GM more than US$2.34 billion since 2009, when it called off its plans for selling the company, and a staggering US$13 billion since 1999.

It's winter testing time for Opel's upcoming mini car that is currently known by its codename Junior, but which will probably be called the Allegra when it enters the European market in early 2013.

The Allegra will be Opel's entry in Europe's fast-growing A-segment, though GM Europe's president Nick Reilly has stated that it will compete with the more expensive offerings in its category, which puts it against the Fiat 500 and perhaps even the Mini.

The sixth generation of the Volkswagen Golf is in its final year with a replacement due to be unveiled at the upcoming Paris Motor Show this fall, yet it still managed to sell more cars than any other model in Europe in 2011 for a third year in a row, according to data provided from JATO Dynamics.

Volkswagen delivered 484,547 units of the Golf in 2011, down 1.6% over the previous year. The German company also took second spot with the Polo that sold 356,490 cars, up 0.5%, while the Ford Fiesta with 348,465 sales (-13.3%), the Opel / Vauxhall Corsa with 313,325 units (-1.7%) and the Renault Clio with 294,172 (-13.1%) complete the Top 5.

We should note that all Top 10 best-sellers came from either German (7 models) or French (3 models) brands.

JATO Dynamics says that outside the top ten, certain models performed much better than their predecessors did including Peugeot’s new 508, which saw its sales rise almost three times achieved by its predecessor, the 407, in 2010, the new Ford C-Max/Grand C-Max, Citroën C4, BMW X3 and Kia Sportage.