In the production | The new electric car Ampera-e
Early last year, on the edge of bankruptcy, GM was so short of money that he sought to sell its European subsidiary Opel, a brand it has owned since 80 years and has been instrumental genius GM managed to save the brand, but the dust is settled enough to see the way Opel through desperate times and what his future holds.
But let's go back a bit as the full extent of the vulnerability of GM became clear last spring, Magna, an Austro-Canadian supplier and car assembler expressed interest in buying Opel one of the largest automotive suppliers in the world, Magna has teamed up with Sberbank, a Russian bank, and presented an ambitious plan to use the production capacity of Opel ironic, given how the Magna subsidiary Magna Steyr, which builds cars for various automakers , has failed to keep its plant in Graz, Austria, even at full capacity.
On May 30, a non-binding agreement was reached in principle between GM, the government U S, and federal and local governments in Germany Opel would be sold to Magna Even so, many GM execs privately said they would prefer to keep Opel.
There was a small hope of keeping some control in the proposed arrangement, GM would retain 35 percent of Opel, in order to maintain access to Opel's engineering capabilities But the danger Opel drag GM hands was always present.
The reasons why GM's discomfort with a sale were second Delta platform generation quite logical Opel is the basis not only for the new Opel Astra, but also for the upcoming Chevrolet Cruze Another Opel platform, size Epsilon average, proved so flexible that it worked on cars as diverse as the Saab 9-3 and Chevrolet Malibu LaCrosse and 2011 Cadillac XTS are based on the latest versions of the Opel Epsilon and has also a diesel expertise, whose US operations could use if ever diesel engines become popular Finally, GM needed the Opel sales in Europe to claim a footprint in all major markets.
The question was still in the air by August, when the political pressure from the German government mounted on GM to get a deal with Magna to buy Opel Magna has been considered the best bet to keep as many German jobs as possible, but anti GM and anti-American sentiment has also played a role in pushing the government to purchase Magna В powerful German labor leader Klaus Franz, in particular, advocated a divorce with Detroit, but GM has become all its credo.
The Germans were dismayed when a GM financially stronger said Nov. 3 that Opel would remain a part of GM But indignation feelings quickly subsided Carl-Peter Forster, GM Europe boss and a supporter of the Magna deal, left the company and was replaced by English-born Nick Reilly, December 4.
Reilly apparently worked throughout the empire GM, except the United States and had been with international operations before boarding the presidency of GM Europe, an organization that will decrease in an attempt to eliminate layers of bureaucracy Under Reilly, Opel will focus on building cars for Europeans while slowly developing the brand in other continents Opel continue future Delta and Epsilon engineer and high-end variants offering spend more luxury and refinement.
We saw Opel cars in the United States sell Opel Astra as the Saturn was offset by unfavorable exchange rates and high production costs to keep the price low, GM has a low input Version Astra he was far from the most powerful senior Astras available in Europe in fact, it was not much better than the Chevrolet Cobalt buyers Saturn cheaper, accustomed to low prices, didn t buy expensive Astra German engineering.
GM seems to have learned from this misstep, and in the future, to help profitability, U Car liØes below the Aveo Cruze and Spark will be built on less expensive platforms Korean partner GM Daewoo .
The latest models of Opel grow upscale, and some are large enough to be buyers Buicks Unlike Saturn, Buick buyers pay a premium for what they perceive as a better vehicle So the plan is to merge Opel and Buick some of their programs to attract new customers while keeping the aging Buick loyalists.
Opel has won t be launched officially in the US, but the 2011 Buick Regal is essentially a rebadged Opel Insignia A high-performance Regal GS comes later, and a wagon version of the Insignia Sports Tourer called, might have a chance as Buick and so small premium cars never caught up in the States, Opel has an impressive portfolio of available vehicles, including a car coming from the city described as an iPod on wheels see interview below.
In retrospect, the sale failed В Opel demonstrates just how desperate GM was developed before selling Opel government rescue plan would have probably caused more damage to GM that the loss of another brand, perhaps with the exception of Cadillac and Chevrolet Slowly, a sense of relief prevails even among GM critics in Germany if Regal is an indication in the future, you can find a German unusual degree of Opelness in Buick dealerships.
AV Nay, We experienced a wave of good will, and the Insignia launched more than all his predecessors in history and while it is premature to talk about the new Astra has launched a few weeks ago, the first reactions are very good.
C D Which customers win with the Insignia.
AV for the first time, we are making significant inroads into Audi, BMW and Mercedes territory About 20 percent of customers of the Insignia from other brands and these, two-thirds come from premium brands.
C D Are there plans to launch a high-end flagship model positioned more.
AV was used for these applications, both customers and dealers This ended abruptly with the launch of the Insignia.
C D Certainly there were delays in research and development during the past year.
AV Rather we actually pulled forward the start of production of some of our new products such as the new Meriva minivan smaller than a Mazda 5 We are on track with a raised front Corsa Chevy Aveo hatchback size, we will have the break Astra in the fall, and there will be two very sporty doors replacing the Astra GTC a VW GTI rival and a minivan Zafira size of a Mazda 5 in 2011.
C D What emphasizing the German roots of average Opel.
AV We will put more emphasis on technology, quality, accuracy and design will become extremely important.
AV We were in the U S before, but with the closure of other brands, I wouldn t think adding a new brand is a priority for GM there.
C D Thanks to Buick, you're already in the U S What is the Buick influence on the future product.
AV It is a true win-win situation, but with over 1 5 million units, Opel is undoubtedly the leader Buick follows the example of Opel, not vice versa.
AV We are considering a car in fashion, an image symbol, perhaps similar to the Fiat 500, but certainly not retro If it comes, it will be an iPod on wheels, a true icon.
AV The successor to the Astra GTC will be so sporty and stylistically independent you will be surprised and the Opel Ampera is almost a twin of the Chevrolet Volt is an excellent example of an engineering effort for all brands and even continents.
GM and Opel Strange Love Feature Car and Driver, opel.