Opel Green Car Advisor Blog on Edmunds' Inside Line

November 2, 2009

Volt Chief Frank Weber To Depart GM for Senior Post at Opel

Automaker Says Departure Part of Long-Planned Shift of Duties; Volt Still on Schedule

GM is losing the longtime head of it's Chevrolet Volt extended-range, plug-in hybrid development team but says the departure of Frank Weber (left) to its German subsidiary, Opel, is part of a long-planned leadership shuffle.

Weber, 43, is returning to Opel, where he previously was a top product developer, after heading the Volt project since March 2007.

He is the second top member of GM's vehicle electrification team to depart in recent months.

Bob Kruse, executive director of vehicle engineering for hybrids, electric vehicles and batteries, left in September to start a consulting firm and was replaced by GM engineering veteran Micky Bly.

Doug Parks, chief engineer for GM's compact car programs in Europe, will replace Weber, who is returning to Opel Dec. 1 in a still undefined "senior leadership" post.

Weber's shift comes just as a post-bankruptcy GM, looking for cash and ways to refocus itself on its core products, is scheduled to close its deal to sell majority interest in Opel to a group headed by Canadian tier-one components manufacturer Magna International and backed by Russia's Sherbank.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell November 2, 2009, 8:29 AM
Categories:: Chevrolet, General Motors, Hybrid, Opel, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Chevrolet Volt

September 24, 2009

GM to Build Laboratory in China to 'Tap Country's Outstanding Research Talent'

General Motors announced today that it will create a laboratory in Shanghai to contribute to technological innovation in a number of automotive-related fields for GM both domestically and on a worldwide basis.

The announcement came less than a month after GM disclosed that its sales in China in the first eight months of this year increased 49.6 percent on an annual basis to 1,111,401 vehicles.

The China Science Lab (pictured) will be the first major laboratory established by a global automaker in China. In a statement, GM said the lab's initial focus will be on research related to advanced propulsion technology and joining technology.

But the lab will also focus on battery cells, megacity safety research, advanced vehicle development, and light materials. It will engage in additional activities in accordance with market conditions and its own research capability as it ramps up.

The lab will also carry out collaborative work with universities and government-run scientific institutions across China. It is expected to employ up to 100 staff during its early stage of operation. No specifics were provided regarding the lab's scheduled construction and opening dates or its cost.

Kevin Wale, president and managing director of the GM China Group, said that through the lab, "we will leverage the country's outstanding research talent together with GM's extensive resources to come up with new innovations for the benefit of vehicle users around the globe."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett September 24, 2009, 12:56 PM
Categories:: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, China, China, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Opel, Plug-ins and Electric, Saab
Technorati Tags:: Buick

September 14, 2009

2009 Frankfurt Auto Show: Greenest Car Show Begins Previews Tuesday

Hyundai Motors' ix-Metro Hybrid city car is one of several dozen 'green' cars and concepts debuting at Frankfurt show.

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

This week's Frankfurt Auto Show promises to be the greenest major auto show to date - a showcase for fuel efficiency improvements and alternative powertrains that are coming to the forefront as the mainstream auto industry finally begins coming to grips with the need to begin weaning itself - and us - from petroleum.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell September 14, 2009, 1:49 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Audi, Auto Shows, BMW, Citroen, Diesel, Fiat, Ford, Fuel Cell, General Motors, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Hyundai, Kia, Lexus, MINI, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opel, Peugeot, Plug-ins and Electric, Renault, Toyota, Volkswagen
Technorati Tags:: 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show

August 25, 2009

Opel to Debut New Astra at Frankfurt, Offer It With Choice of 8 Fuel-Effcient Engines

Opel announced today that it will debut at next month's Frankfurt auto show the completely updated Astra small family car that will launch later this year.

----------
Right, the Astra in red and Ampera.
----------

The model, which the European subsidiary of General Motors has produced since 1991, will be offered with a choice of eight engines, ranging from 95 horsepower to 180 horsepower, that are 12 percent lower in fuel consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions that the current line-up of Astra engines.

The new Astra has grown slightly to provide a roomier interior and, at the same time, it has benefited from engineering enhancements that allow it to improve fuel efficiency and performance.

Also sharing the stage in Frankfurt with the new Astra will be the Ampera, the European version of its Chevrolet Volt, which Opel unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March of this year.

The two extended-range, plug-in hybrids are the same under the skin. The Ampera will be sold in most of Europe starting in 2011 while Vauxhall, GM's British unit, will build and market a right-hand-drive version for the U.K. starting in 2012 (providing GM and its European marques are still a team then).

The Volt is slated to launch at the end of 2010.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett August 25, 2009, 9:32 AM
Categories:: Auto Shows, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Opel, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Auto show

June 3, 2009

Magna Says It Can't Sell Opel Cars, Including Make's Gas-Sippers, in U.S. or China

Magna International Inc. is prevented by an agreement with General Motors Corp. from selling Opel cars in the United States and, for now, in China, according to the chairman of the Canadian auto parts company.

That's significant because Opel has a number of low-emissions, fuel-efficient vehicles in its lineup and more in the works, including the one pictured here.

"The agreement with General Motors does prevent us from selling Opel in the United States," Frank Stronach told reporters at a news conference in Ottawa on Tuesday. A Magna-led consortium has agreed to buy European automaker Opel from GM.

Asked if the agreement applies to China too, he said, "Yes, for the moment, but keep in mind that General Motors - we've been working together for 50 years, we've been great partners, and they still own 35 percent (of Opel)."

He suggested the prohibition on Opel sales in China might be flexible. "If it makes economic sense you might persuade people to change something."

Stronach also said he expects Opel to break even in three years, and to turn a profit in four.

Magna's chairman was in the Canadian capital to seek government funding for a project to produce electrical systems for electric cars and, eventually, electric cars themselves.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett June 3, 2009, 12:21 PM
Categories:: Batteries, China, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Opel, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Electric Car

March 2, 2009

Geneva Motor Show: Opel Ampera Plug-In Hybrid's a Volt in Haute Couture

General Motors unveiled the European version of its Chevrolet Volt at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show today and all we can say is how come they get the best-looking sibling!

The two extended-range, plug-in hybrids are the same under the skin, but the Opel Ampera, well, a picture really can be worth a thousand words. Take a look at both (that's the Volt below) and we'll bet most of you agree with us that, from the front at least, the Opel is by far the better-looking car.

It will be sold in most of Europe starting in 2011 while Vauxhall, GM's British unit, will build and market a right-hand-drive version for the U.K. starting in 2012 (providing GM and its European marques are still a team and still around then). The Volt is slated to launch at the end of 2010.

Our sister news blog at Inside Line has the latest technical details.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell March 2, 2009, 5:00 PM
Categories:: Chevrolet, General Motors, Opel, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Geneva Motor Show

January 28, 2009

Opel to Show European Version of Chevy Volt Plug-in Hybrid at Geneva Auto Show

Opel will unveil a vehicle at the Geneva Auto Show in March that uses the same powertrain as the upcoming Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, parent company General Motors announced this week, and that the car will be named Ampera.

The Ampera (pictured) will enter production in 2011, one year after the Volt is scheduled to do so, GM said. Vauxhall, Opel's sister brand in the U.K., will get its own version in 2012 or sometime thereafter.

All three cars will share the Voltec powertrain, which will use an electric motor for propulsion. A battery pack will supply electricity to the motor for the initial 40 or so miles of driving. After that, an onboard gasoline generator will come on to juice the battery pack for roughly 200 more miles of travel.

Once out of gasoline, the Ampera's lithium-ion battery can be recharged via a standard 230-volt outlet. GM will release more data on the European-specification Ampera at the Geneva show.

"With the Ampera, Opel will be the first European automobile manufacturer to provide customers several hundred kilometers of non-stop electric driving," said Alain Visser, a spokesman for GM Europe's chief marketing office.

The European variant of the Volt is a key model for GM Europe's future model plans and the reinvention of Opel as an upper mid-market brand.

The Ampera is not expected to have any major styling changes in comparison to the Volt and is set to rival the new generation Toyota Prius and Honda Insight that will go on sale in Europe this year.

GM will be hoping that the Ampera's groundbreaking plug-in hybrid powertrain technology will give the model an edge over the Prius and Insight - conventional hybrids that rely on less-desirable nickel-metal hydride battery technology.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett January 28, 2009, 6:48 PM
Categories:: Auto Shows, Batteries, Chevrolet, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Opel, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Chevy Volt

December 10, 2008

Law Should Be Changed to Let Detroit 3 Sell in U.S. Cars Now Only Sold in Europe

In all their talk of Detroit's need to make fuel-efficient vehicles, members of Congress managed to overlook a simple fact: General Motors and Ford already make popular, high-quality, high-mileage automobiles.

----------
The 2009 diesel-powered Ford Ka, available in Europe but not the U.S., gets 60 miles per gallon.
----------

The trouble is, those very desirable vehicles are sold only in Europe because of regulatory differences between the U.S. and the European Union. So says an article published in The New York Times.

The automakers' reluctance to sell those cars domestically is not as simple as the vehicles' inability to meet U.S. standards for equipment, safety and exhaust emissions; there's also the cost involved in the certification process. Changing the law to allow the U.S. sale of cars compliant with European emissions and crash standards, even for just a few years, would allow GM and Ford to quickly add some of their popular, high-mileage European models to their lineups in America.

It's reasonable to think that within a year, the Times reported, GM could import the tiny Opel Agila, the sporty Chevy Spark, and the midsize Opel Insignia, which won the 2009 European Car of the Year award. Ford's improved lineup could include the Ka subcompact, the universally praised Fiesta and the S-Max minivan, which blows the sliding doors off any current domestic competition.

Crash testing for new cars, often referred to as New Car Assessment Programs, varies by geographic region, though a 10-year plan is in place to define a global standard. The NCAP test results, summarized in the United States in easy-to-grasp star ratings (five is best, one is worst), provides useful information for consumers, though it is not the same as the federal tests conducted by automakers to certify new models before they can go on sale.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (4); Scott Doggett December 10, 2008, 12:03 PM
Categories:: Chevrolet, Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Legislation, Opel
Technorati Tags:: Chevy Spark

September 11, 2008

GM Exec Confirms Plan for European Version of Chevy Volt

GM's European chief has reiterated that the company plans to launch both Chevrolet and Opel versions of the Volt plug-in hybrid for the European market around the middle of 2011.

----------

GM executive Tony Posawatz stands with a pre-production Volt.

----------

Carl-Peter Forster, president of GM Europe, told Automotive News Europe that the company is "investing an enormous amount" and willl launch the cars "in around three years."

GM has vowed to begin producing retail models of the car, which runs on electric power and uses a small gasoline engine as an on-board generator, by the end of 2010 for the U.S. market.

An Opel concept called the Flextreme (right) that was shown at last year's Frankfurt auto show used a diesel generator in place of the gasoline engine, but Forster didn't indicate which type of internal combustion engine/generator would be used for European Volt production models.

Forster also said that GM intends to build as many as 50 prototype models of the Chevrolet Volt by the end of this year for testing in the U.S. They would serve as rolling test-beds for the hardware intended for the production model.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell September 11, 2008, 2:18 PM
Categories:: Chevrolet, General Motors, Hybrid, Opel
Technorati Tags:: Chevrolet Volt

July 22, 2008

Acura, Smart, Chevy Models Top List of Healthiest Cars Tested by Ecology Center

Soy foam in the seats the Ford F-150 pickups and Lincoln Navigator SUVs. Locally farmed hemp , "ethically produced" woolen fabric and floor mats made of sisal in the Lotus Eco Elise.

Some automakers are increasingly going to great lengths to make the interiors of some of their models if not environmentally friendly, at least a bit wholesome.

But others, well...

Early today the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor, Michigan, posted its second-annual consumer guide to toxic chemicals in cars and children's car seats at www.HealthyCar.org.

More than two hundred 2008- and 2009-model-year vehicles and more than 60 children's car seats were tested for unhealthy chemicals that seep in gaseous form from the steering wheel, dashboard, armrests, seats and carpet.

The "new-car smell," as the gases are commonly called, mingle with the air occupants breathe and have been linked to allergies, birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity and cancer.

The Ecology Center reported that Mazda, General Motors and Nissan improved since last year's findings, with GM showing the greatest gains of the domestic automakers, with an average vehicle ranking improvement of 27 percent.

The list of the 10 best and 10 worst vehicles as picked by the Center appears in the chart above.

Average child-car-seat scores improved 28 percent overall. The list of 10 best and worst car seats for 2008 as picked by the Center appears at left. Click on the chart for a better look.

For more information, go to www.HealthyCar.org.

Below are the three worst 2008-model-year vehicles by interior pollution, according to the Center (click on each to enlarge). From left to right: Mitsubishi Eclipse, Suzuki Reno and Volkswagen New Beetle.

Below are are the three best vehicles by interior pollution, according to the Center (click on each to enlarge). From left to right: Acura RXD, Chevrolet Cobalt and Smart Passion Cabriolet.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett July 22, 2008, 12:21 AM
Categories:: Acura, Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Daimler, Dodge, Emissions, Fiat, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hummer, Hyundai, Jeep, Kia, Lexus, MINI, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opel, Pontiac, Porsche, Renault, Saab, Smart, Subaru, Suzuki, Think, Toyota, Volkswagen, Volvo

September 10, 2007

Green Scene at Frankfurt Auto Show

Although there's plenty of development work on alternative fuels and power plants going on in U.S. automakers’ R&D labs, the industry is consumed these days with fixing its collective financial woes and there's not much noise being made about advancing green technology. Not in the U.S., anyhow.

We likely won't hear too much about what's close to being market ready until the carmakers and the UAW complete their ongoing master contract negotiations and possibly not until the hype around January's Detroit auto show begins.

But Asian and European car companies, including European subsidiaries of both Ford and GM, are stepping in to fill the environmental void, with a spate of clean diesels and gas-electric hybrids in the works. A lot of green goodies will be shown off at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show, which begins a two-day press preview on Tuesday.

Here's a look at what's on tap.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell September 10, 2007, 8:00 AM
Categories:: Alternative Fuels, Audi, BMW, Diesel, Hybrid, Hyundai, Nissan, Opel, Porsche, Volvo