Up Close And Personal With The Verano 'Vert
Published: March 6th, 2013
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The Geneva Auto Show gave us our first look at the Opel Cascada, aka the future Buick Verano Convertible. The Cascada is a four-seat, front-drive convertible in the vein of the Audi A5, the kind of car enthusiasts turn their noses up at, but regular consumers tend to gravitate towards. Besides, something has to compete with the Chrysler 200 Convertible.
More by Derek Kreindler
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This will kick the 200 into the cheap seats. Built on the Delta II platform (as seen in the Euro Astra, amongst others), it'll drive fairly well and there is quite a decent amount of trunk space - the roof folds into a dedicated area so as not to compromise the rear literage. Interestingly, the rear seats also fold forward - which is odd, as in other drop tops the bench is used to make the chassis more rigid. Anyway, as long as the engine lineup offers some power (the downfall of the PSA and Renault convertibles, which were quite heavy), it'll be a good soft top choice, me thinks.
I'm not really the market for this kind of car, but this signals to me that GM will keep Opel alive, or at a minimum harmonize offerings between Opel and Buick, at least in North America. Possibly worldwide if GM can move quickly enough. Here in NA, particularly the US, we could use another choice in soft top driving. I don't see the 200 Convertible making it another generation. It's too bad, really. There are a few trim levels of the 200 Convert that are pretty attractive. The amusing issue to me is that I'm getting used to seeing Opels with Buick grilles on them, so much that when I see an actual Opel I wonder where the Tri-Shield is on the grille...