Vauxhall - Newswheel.com

Vauxhall / Opel unveils new Mondeo-munching Insignia

Newswheel staff :: 21 April 2008 :: Filed under Saloon, Opel / Vauxhall, Vauxhall, Vauxhall Insignia

Gone are the days when the upper medium segment – the repmobile, y’all - ruled our roads with polyester-suited impunity. Actually, buyers have generally buggered off in favour of premium brands or niche models - soft roaders, crossovers and all that jazz. Sales are therefore on the slouchy side of slumpy. And yet there’s still something slightly momentous about the launch of a new sales rep special from one of the big players. At least the new Vauxhall (Opel to our friends across the Channel) Insignia is handsome and promises to be moderately high tech - LED lighting and active dampers are options, an EcoFLEX model is on the cards. And it will of course lend its underpinnings to a wide range of models in GM’s brand portfolio…

Vauxhall Astra VXR Nurburgring Edition

Newswheel staff :: 12 December 2007 :: Filed under Hatchback, Vauxhall, Vauxhall Astra, Europe & UK

There’s nothing quite like being sequestered for a special edition from a mainstream manufacturer to turn a cult following into mass market mediocrity. The latest victim is the hallowed tarmac of the Nurburgring circuit in Germany, leveraged by Vauxhall for the new Astra VXR Nurburgring Edition. Described by Vauxhall as “mechanically similar” to the boggo VXR, we can forgive the 'Ring Edition’s lack of engine mods, but surely some chassis tuning isn’t too much too ask for?

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New Vectra: bagged and verily tagged

Newswheel staff :: 17 May 2007 :: Filed under Saloon, Vauxhall, Vauxhall Vectra, Europe & UK

Mass-market, mid-sized saloons ain’t exactly money spinners anymore. In Europe, compact execs like BMW’s 3 and the Audi A4 have become today’s high-volume repmobiles. But Opel / Vauxhall’s upcoming Vectra is still an important design and technology bellwether for the company. It will also lend its underpinnings to a wide range of GM vehicles around the world from Saturn to Saab…

End is nigh for tiring Signum

Newswheel staff :: 10 May 2007 :: Filed under Crossover, Hatchback, Opel, Vauxhall, Vauxhall Signum

If you’re wondering why most car companies are so damn conservative, look no further than the Vauxhall / Opel Signum. GM’s Euro subsidiary was happily cranking out the usual conventional and anonymous fare when some bright spark had the great idea to build a cheap executive car that was built for passenger comfort, not street cruising cred. Well, it didn’t work – the Signum hasn’t sold well and it dies next year…

Vauxhall gives Corsa considerable clout

Newswheel staff :: 05 January 2007 :: Filed under Hatchback, Opel / Vauxhall, Opel / Vauxhall Corsa, Vauxhall, Europe & UK

Vauxhall extended its high performance brand to its entry level model this week with the launch of the Corsa VXR. Power comes courtesy of a blown 1.6-litre four-pot mill pumping out 189bhp and capable of pushing this compact hatch to 140mph…

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Vauxhall preps 500bhp Monaro VXR and tweaked Vectra VXR

Newswheel staff :: 09 September 2006 :: Filed under Saloon, Vauxhall, Vauxhall Monaro, Vauxhall Vectra, Europe & UK

493bhp of supercharged V8 grunt for just £35,995? That’ll be the new limited edition Monaro VXR500, unveiled today by Vauxhall. It’s less than half the price of any other 500bhp-ish coupe, according to Vauxhall. Bizzarely, it’s also precisely £1,000 less than the standard, naturally aspirated Monaro VXR. Also launched today is the tweaked 2007 model year Vectra VXR…

Newswheel @ the British Motor Show: Vauxhall / Opel Corsa

Newswheel staff :: 19 July 2006 :: Filed under Hatchback, Opel / Vauxhall, Opel / Vauxhall Corsa, Vauxhall, Europe & UK, Trade shows

The second big premier at ExCel is Vauxhall’s new entry-level hatch, the Corsa. We’ll give it a general thumbs up, largely thanks to some taut exterior surfacing and a few nicely bevelled-and-chamfered edges that add up to a well-hewn and solid presence (apart from the odd dodgy panel gap on what we assume were preproduction cars on the show stand). The three-door model is definitely a looker and manages to avoid the pong of garishness that emanates from the tri-door Astra Sport Hatch…

Astra goes Panoramic

Newswheel staff :: 15 June 2006 :: Filed under Hatchback, Opel / Vauxhall, Vauxhall, Vauxhall Astra,

With its Sport Hatch moniker and arching window line, the Vauxhall / Opel Astra three-door is a bit of a try hard. By most measures, of course, it’s a distinctly plain Jane mass market hatchback. But it now has at least one USP to separate it from the Euro hordes – a panoramic extended windscreen, known imaginatively as the, er, Panoramic windscreen. And the best news is that Vauxhall will hand you a fiver to give it a try…

Hot Zafira bags ‘Ring record

Newswheel staff :: 26 May 2006 :: Filed under Mini MPV / People carrier, Vauxhall, Vauxhall Astra Zafira, Europe & UK

Eight minutes, 54.38 seconds. That’s how long it took former Le Mans winner Manuel Reuter to drag the Opel Zafira OPC (a.k.a. the Vauxhall Zafira VXR in Blighty) around the infamous Nurburgring Nordschleife track in Germany. Which makes it the quickest people carrier in town. For your reference, that’s about the same as John Surtees managed in a Cooper Maserati, back in 1966 (oh, OK, the Nordschleife was a couple of Ks longer in those days, but let’s not allow facts to get in the way of a good segway)…

Vauxhall prices up Astra drop-top

Newswheel staff :: 21 February 2006 :: Filed under Cabriolet, Vauxhall, Vauxhall Astra, Europe & UK

Oh yes, it’s cheaper than its closest rivals. But not by much. The new folding hard-top equipped Astra Twintop can be yours for just £16,995. For that you get the base Twintop with a rather lethargic 1.6-litre petrol mill…

Manic Meriva

Newswheel staff :: 19 November 2005 :: Filed under Mini MPV / People carrier, Vauxhall, Vauxhall Meriva, Europe & UK, US

Offering performance versions of mass-market hatchbacks and saloons in an effort to add a little sex appeal to the rest of the range makes plenty of sense. After all, the corporate drones who drive such mundane machinery probably hanker after something a little racier. With the turbo-charged Zafira mid-sized MPV, however, Vauxhall successfully stretched that theory to new limits. But you’ve gotta wonder, has it gone a step too far with the new 180bhp Meriva mini-MPV?

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