Opel and Vauxhall Name their New City Car Adam, will Debut at the Paris Motor Show

As promised, Opel and its sister brand Vauxhall today revealed the name of their upcoming city car, which up until now, was officially known by its code name 'Junior'. The new model is called Adam, which also happens to be the name of the German automaker's founder, Adam Opel.

The company released a pair of pictures of a camouflaged prototype model, a video of the car revealing its name through a navigation map and a second comic strip featuring Opel employees who worked on the development and marketing teams for the Adam.

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Opel Reportedly Mulling to End Astra Production in Germany in 2015

General Motors' struggling Opel brand may end production of the popular Astra compact model at its Rüsselsheim plant in Germany after the presentation of the next generation model in 2015, according to a report from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ).

Citing unnamed senior labor representatives who are involved in restructuring talks, the German newspaper wrote that GM's top brass in Europe is proposing to transfer production of Opel's second bestselling model after the Corsa to its existing factories in Ellesmere Port, England and Gliwice, Poland.

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Spied: New European Market Opel / Vauxhall Astra Sedan

In what seems like ages in the auto industry, Opel and its British sister brand Vauxhall are still developing the Astra sedan more than three years since the introduction of the hatchback model in the fall of 2009, and two years after Buick launched the Chinese market version of the car under the Excelle GT nameplate.

In the meantime, GM also brought a Buick version of the Astra sedan named the Verano to the North American market.

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Opel Junior's Name to be Revealed through a Prototype's Ride in Frankfurt

After revealing the introduction date, GM's Opel division continues its playful tease about its upcoming Fiat 500 rival by announcing that the name of the new model, currently known as Junior, will be revealed via a prototype model's drive in Frankfurt.

To explain, on May 8, the prototype will cruise the streets of the Germany city writing its own name through the route it's going. The vehicle's trip will be displayed live on a virtual map on Opel's Facebook page.

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Opel gets Playful with "Junior", Confirms May 8 Debut in Comic Strip

Typically, automakers prepare the public and the press alike for an upcoming vehicle debut with one or more cropped, perhaps even shaded, pictures or an equally mysterious video clip, but that's not the way Opel wants to play the game with its soon-to-be revealed premium city car.

The German carmaker opted to release a lighthearted comic strip through which it informs us that the small hatch will not be called "Junior" as this is its internal codename, and that the production name will include an "A".

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Opel Builds 500,000th Insignia at its Rüsselsheim Plant

Opel's Rüsselsheim plant reached a new milestone last week with the production of the 500,000th Insignia, less than four years after its market launch in October of 2008.

The vehicle in question was a white Insignia Sports Tourer fitted with Opel's new 192hp (195PS) 2.0 BiTurbo diesel engine which had its debut in February.

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Detroit's Big Three Face Significant Problems and Big Loses in Europe

All in all, the US automotive industry is in a very good shape, especially if you consider that three years ago General Motors and Chrysler were one step before closing shop.

General Motors, helped by a raft of new products and Toyota’s production problems, is once again the world’s number one car manufacturer. The Pentastar has tied up with Fiat – and even though the latter was thought to be the knight in shining armor, now it is Chrysler that is bringing in the profits while its Italian partner is struggling.

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SCOOP: New Opel City Car Smiles at the Camera Possibly for the Last Time Before its Unveiling

The latest word from Germany is that Opel will release the first official photos of its new city car model on May 8 and that it will not be named Junior or Allegra as originally thought, but Adam, evidently after the founder of the company, Adam Opel.

If the reveal date turns out to be true (we have not yet confirmed the news), these could very well be the last spy shots we get of the prototype model.

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Spy Shots: Opel Insignia Prepares for its First Nip and Tuck

It's time for one of Opel's most popular models, the Insignia, which is sold under the Vauxhall nameplate in Britain and as the Buick Regal in North America and China, to go under the cosmetic knife, some four years after its introduction.

We can’t be sure if these prototypes of the Insignia five-door fastback and Sports Tourer (station wagon) that were scooped in Germany are hiding the final changes behind the black and white camo, but if they are, then the exterior styling tweaks should be limited to the front and rear fascias and perhaps to the wheel designs.

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MR Car Design Slams Down and Powers up the Opel Insignia OPC

For its next project, German tuning house MR Car Design has selected the Opel Insignia OPC sports sedan, which is the European sibling of the Buick Regal GS, though instead of a 270HP turbocharged four and front-wheel drive, the Opel gets a more potent 321hp (325PS) V6 turbo and AWD.

The first thing you'll notice about MR Car Design's Insignia OPC is how low it sits to the ground, something that was made possible thanks to a height-adjustable G-Ride air suspension from Reil Performance.

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