#opel
Even Isuzu Wants Out Of Opel
Dead Brand Pool 2014: The Brutal Retreat
The most successful brands in our industry don’t have much meaning to them.
Toyota, Chevrolet, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, all of these are names that wouldn’t evoke much of any imagery had their manufacturers never existed.
Mercury and Saturn are popular planets that make you think of space and the futuristic pursuit of those faraway places. Acura should be quite accurate and precise. Rams are tough. Infiniti pays homage to the outer limits of capability and performance.
Yet all of these names experienced failure, or ultimately failed, due to the key essential ingredient within any brand’s reputation.
Product.
Top Designer To GM: "Hell, No, I Won't Go."
Well into the first decade of the new millennium, Changchun, China, was Volkswagen’s Siberia. When someone was transferred to the frigid city in Northern China, the others inevitably asked: “What did you do?”
It looks like Opel is quickly becoming GM’s Siberia, and people rather desert than going.
Out Of Thin Air: Great Lies Of The Carblogs. Today: Cadillac XTS Turns Into Opel Omega
Today, blogs from Autoblog to Worldcarfans are tripping over themselves, knowing for sure that Opel will launch, as soon as next year, its top-of-the line car, that it will be the Opel Omega, and that it will be based on the Cadillac XTS. (Heck, isn’t that thing based on an Opel-developed Epsilon II anyway?) The trouble is: It’s all made up. Let’s investigate the making of the Great Lie of the Day.
Will Opel Become Collateral Damage Of The One Chevy Strategy? What Would You Do In Akerson's Place?
“Should Opel, Chevy coexist in Europe?” This is what Automotive News [sub] asks today without offering a real answer. Let’s have a look. Then, cast your vote.
Say Hi To Opel's New CFO
GM throws fresh troops in Opel’s losing battle. For keeping more money, Opel has a new CFO. For eventually making more money, the Rüsselsheim automaker has a new R&D chief.
Opel CEO Du Jour: Who's Next?
How would you feel if you start your new job and people greet you by speculating who will replace you? This is how Thomas Sedran must feel. Only hours after he has been made the new interim CEO of Opel, German media speculates who will be next in his ejection seat in Rüsselsheim. The roster of likely candidates is not encouraging.
Opel Names Second Interim Chief In A Week. What's His MTBF?
Opel has a new CEO, the second in a week, and he will soon be out of a job: As expected by TTAC, GM named Thomas Sedran as interim CEO of Opel, replacing the current interim CEO Stephen Girsky, who replaced the not quite interim CEO Karl-Friedrich Stracke.
German Media Writes Opel Eulogy, Blames Thoughtless Akerson
The summary execution of Opel chief Karl-Friedrich Stracke, and the mess this has created, is front page material in the German press today. The fingers point in the direction of Detroit. Detroit has no clear strategy and changes directions like soiled underwear. The fingers also point at an impulsive Dan Akerson who is out of his depth.
According to Germany’s Handelsblatt, the firing of Opel chief Karl-Friedrich Stracke went down like this:
Opel Between Rock And Hard Place: Bankruptcy The Only Way Out?
Opel’s stand-in boss Stephen Girsky demands changes from his workforce. “Our successful revitalization demands from all of us that we accept to do business differently than before, and that we do it quickly,” Girsky wrote in an email to staff, cited by Germany’s BILD Zeitung. How different, remains unsaid. Workers and unions expect a fight and gear up for one. Opel is running out of money. Bankruptcy rears its head.
Rental Car Review: 2012 Chevrolet Captiva Sport
If you’re shopping for a compact American crossover, Chevy’s Equinox is likely on your list. If however you’re looking to rent a small crossover, the Chevrolet Captiva Sport is probably what you’ll get for $29.95 a day from Hertz. While you’re bound to see them on the streets, you can’t buy them new unless you’re a fleet customer. That’s because the Captiva is designed to do two things: keep fleet sales of GM’s other CUVs low and continue to amortize the cost of Americanizing the Opel Antara. Yep, that’s right, under the bow tie, the Captiva Sport is none-other than the 2008-2010 Saturn VUE, aka the Opel Antata, Holden Captiva and Dawewoo Winstorm MaXX. We spent a week in a Hertz rental to find out if Chevy’s rental soft-roader should be on your used CUV shopping list.
More Mess: GM Fires Opel CEO, Keeps His Lukewarm Plan
After putting Opel CEO Stracke abruptly out to pasture, one would think that his (allegedly interim) successor Steve Girsky has a new plan to rescue Opel and to spare GM shareholders further losses. Not so. The new man will keep the old plan. “GM fully supports the current plan to strengthen Opel and improve its operational competitiveness,” a spokesman for Opel told Reuters.
Opel: Stracke Out, Girsky In, GM In Panic
The Opel mess claims another victim. “Opel’s Karl-Friedrich Stracke stepped down from his position as chief executive of the embattled carmaker to take on “special assignments”, where he will report to the Chairman and CEO of parent General Motors,” Reuters says.
GM Won't Share Volt DNA With French Partner
The new energy relationship between PSA Peugeot Citroen and BMW is just about done now that BMW and Toyota intensified their cooperation. An Opel executive dashed hopes that the French will be able to use GM technology instead. “The honest answer is I can’t imagine that,” Opel development chief Rita Forst told Reuters, when asked if the two companies would share green car technology.
Vauxhall Names New Small Car After Opel's Namesake
Even though the Vauxhall Adam is named after its German twin’s founder, the British arm of General Motors felt it necessary to steal the ailing brand’s thunder, and release photos of their new city car – as if stealing production of the Astra wasn’t enough.
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