Watch the new 2010 Opel Astra in motion in its first official video

Picutres and details on the new 2010 Opel Astra have been revealed in the post OFFICIAL! - Opel presents its VW Golf beater, the 2010 Astra. Now see the car in motion in the video below, the first official one released by Opel:



Source: Opel

OFFICIAL! - Opel presents its VW Golf beater, the 2010 Astra

The recent leaks have warned us: the 2010 Opel Astra was about to appear in an official way. This has been confirmed today, when Opel released the first images of the car, which promises to be a real VW Golf beater.



The presentation of the new midsize hatchback, built over the Delta platform, has been a little late, in fact. The car was expected to appear in March, at this year's edition of Geneva Motor Show. Even so, the car presents interesting characteristics. It is 4.40 m long and has a 2.69 m wheelbase. The rear Suspension, unfortunately, still counts on a torsion beam instead of independent multilink as in Ford Focus and VW Golf

The new car will be equipped, at first, with 1.4-litre and 1.6-litre petrol engines. The entry level will present a naturally aspirated 100 bhp 1.4-litre. There will also be a turbocharged 1.4-litre engine that is not related to the entry level unit, which will have two versions. The first will generate 120 bhp and 175 Nm and the second will will produce 140 bhp and 200 Nm, while the 1.6-litre will also be turbocharged, but will present a much more interesting output: 180 bhp.

Diesel options, all of them turbocharged, will range from 95 bhp to 160 bhp, with a 95 bhp 1.3-litre, a 110 bhp 1.7-litre and two 2-litre units producing 130 bhp and 160 bhp. Besides the hatchback model, both in three and five-door versions, we can expect to see a coupe-cabriolet, a station wagon, the new Zafira, which we have already presented to you, and, according to CarScoop, a sedan version. Considering Cruze uses the same platform, this last version seemed to be less likely, but the oncoming Opel sale makes it make perfect sense.







Source: CarScoop

GM presents the new Opel Insignia OPC and Vauxhall Insignia VXR

The new Insignia, both under Vauxhall or Opel badges, has already been named the Car of the Year 2009. It would not need much more than that to be considered a great car, but then there comes much more, under the names VXR, if as a Vauxhall, or OPC, if as an Opel.



Besides the turbocharged 2.8-litre V6 that produces 325 bhp (239 kw), the car also features the Adaptive 4x4 traction system with eletronic limited slip differential and is 1 cm lower than an Insignia SRi. It will be offered in six colour options: Arden Blue, Power Red, Carbon Flash Black, Silver Lake, Olympic White and Technical Grey. Top speed is electronically limited to 250 km/h, but the car still accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 6 s sharp. Recaro front seats and standard 19-inch wheels give a good idea of what the car can do, but it would please us to test the car where it was developed, in Nürburgring. Someday...








Source: Opel and Vauxhall

LEAKED! - Opel Zafira also makes its first appearance on the internet

Opel Zafira uses the same platform applied to Astra with minor changes. This must be why the minivan decided to start appearing as much as the hatchback and here we have the first sketch of the new generation of the people mover.



Considering the platform is the same, we can expect for the same engines, or else, petrol engines from 75 bhp to 240 bhp (for the OPC version) and diesel units from 90 bhp up to 150 bhp. The new Zafira may only show up in 2011, if Opel manages to survive until there. We hope Astra and Insignia help it live much more. With such good-looking products, that's what the company deserves.

Source: World Car Fans

LEAKED! - See new pictures of the next generation of Opel Astra

Opel may still intend to present the next generation of Opel Astra at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. It was expected to do so at Geneva Motor Show, but the star there was a Volkswagen, the fifth generation Polo. The fact is this car has already been widely presented by leaked images and these ones are the best so far. Have a look.



Opel really lost a great opportunity to attract all eyes to its stand in Switzerland, but it probably thought Astra would drive much more attention in Germany. If only they could keep a secret...

The new car now appears in station wagon and OPC versions and both look as good as Insignia has already looked. And still does.

The new car is expected to use the same engines from the current Astra, or else, petrol engines from 75 bhp to 240 bhp (for the OPC version) and diesel units from 90 bhp up to 150 bhp. VW Golf, which has been elected the World Car of the Year, should start to get concerned...






Source: CarScoop

LEAK! - Here are the first official images of Opel Astra

The next generation of Opel Astra was expected to debut at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. Since it did not show up there, the car is expected for anytime soon. In fact, sooner than it may have seemed before, as the first official images have emerged, even if in a low definition.



The new hatchback will be for sale in three and five door versions. Astra, by the way, will continue to have a whole family of cars, such as a station wagon and a convertible version. A sedan would also be expected, but only if this car was to be sold in emerging countries. For these markets, GM must send only Chevrolet Cruze.

Engines will remain the same ones used by the current Astra, ranging from 75 bhp to 240 bhp in its petrol powerplants and from 90 bhp to 150 bhp on diesel ones. We can also expect a six-speed manual gearbox and an adaptive chassis control, similar to the one VW has offered in the sixth generation of Golf.






Source: Autoblog.nl via Autoblog

Chevrolet Volt meets its siblings, Opel Ampera and Holden Volt

You readers of MotorTips already know Chevrolet Volt is one of GM's highest bets in history. And it is so high GM has just revealed it will be planetary bet, since Volt will probably reach the market with all its siblings, Opel Ampera and Holden Volt. So far.





All these recent presentations reveal GM's strategy for the Voltec powertrain: scale. A lot of scale, in order to make components as cheap as possible in the smallest period of time. Especially after a stupid study has said electric cars with extended range are not economically viable, as if any new technology was not considered to be impossible or unworthy to implement. Petrol once was said to be exactly this. And dangerous.

Both Ampera and the Australian Volt will follow on the steps of Chevrolet's, or else, they will be able to run 60 km only on their ion-lithium batteries charge. This range is enough for 78% of North-American drivers not to use a single drop of fuel in their daily needs, as well as Australian and European folks.

If the battery power gets too low, a combustion engine (Family-0, three-cylindre, 1.4-litre, turbocharged) acts like a generator and feeds electricity to the batteries in order to power the 150 bhp, 370 Nm electric engine that moves Volt ahead. With this generator, Volt can run up to 1,030 km and save 1,900 litres of fuel every year. This combustion engine will be able to use petrol or E85.

The sad part is that Volt and its siblings will only be sold in 2010, maybe even later, in the first quarter of 2011. In the meantime, its design may get older, especially if the car continues to appear so often. Opel's design, as usual, looks a lot better than Chevrolet's. Anyway, we already know what to expect: a 4.40 m long, 1.80 m wide and 1.43 m tall notchback with a wheelbase of 2,69 m and 301 l of luggage capacity. Top speed is limited at 161 km/h, to preserve the batteries' charge. For all of them, very likely


















Source: GM