Opel Launches New Corsa “Kaleidoscope” Edition

With the fourth generation of the Opel Corsa entering its sixth year in the market, the German automaker is trying to beef up interest in the supermini with the release of another special edition version. This one is called "Kaleidoscope" and it affords a more individualized look to the Corsa.
The Kaleidoscope is available with a choice of two special metallic exterior colors called "pepperdust" and "technical grey", which are combined with glossy black roof, black mirror housings and for the first time, a black grille frame. It also rides on dark 17-inch wheels and gets chrome exhaust pipes.
Inside, Opel's designers added more color to the cabin with the air vent rings and door inserts finished in either curry or matt chrome, while the door panels are trimmed in denim fabric. The leather steering wheel and the different seat fabrics with silver or aztek gold stitching complete the look.
The Kaleidoscope is available in both three-door and five-door body styles and most engines in the Corsa range including the 1.2-liter ecoFLEX petrol with 70PS and 5.1lt/100km, a 1.6-liter Turbo petrol with 150PS, and the 1.3-liter CDTi diesel with 75PS and 4.0lt/100km.
Depending on the engine, transmission options include five and six gear manual gearboxes, a five-gear easytronic as well as an automatic.
In Germany, prices for the Corsa Kaleidoskope start at €15,425 (about US$20,100) including tax.

PHOTO GALLERY

Read More

VW Golf Keeps its Sales Crown in Europe for 2011, Polo Comes in 2nd And Ford Fiesta 3rd

The sixth generation of the Volkswagen Golf is in its final year with a replacement due to be unveiled at the upcoming Paris Motor Show this fall, yet it still managed to sell more cars than any other model in Europe in 2011 for a third year in a row, according to data provided from JATO Dynamics. Volkswagen delivered 484,547 units of the Golf in 2011, down 1.6% over the previous year. The German company also took second spot with the Polo that sold 356,490 cars, up 0.5%, while the Ford Fiesta with 348,465 sales (-13.3%), the Opel / Vauxhall Corsa with 313,325 units (-1.7%) and the Renault Clio with 294,172 (-13.1%) complete the Top 5.
We should note that all Top 10 best-sellers came from either German (7 models) or French (3 models) brands.
JATO Dynamics says that outside the top ten, certain models performed much better than their predecessors did including Peugeot’s new 508, which saw its sales rise almost three times achieved by its predecessor, the 407, in 2010, the new Ford C-Max/Grand C-Max, Citroën C4, BMW X3 and Kia Sportage.
Overall, the European market shrunk 1.2% over 2010 to 13,543,179 units in 2011.
Greece and Portugal recorded the largest drops with 30.7% and 31.3% respectively, while on the other side of the spectrum, Latvia and Lithuania posted gains of 72.5% and 66.0% respectively.
The top selling brand in Europe was of course Volkswagen with 1,678,279 units (+9.1%) followed by Ford with 1,087,912 (-2.8%) and Renault with 1,038,313 (-8.8%). Out of the top ten brands in 2011, only Volkswagen, BMW, Audi and Mercedes ended 2011 with no reduction in sales.
“Germany is clearly leading Europe in terms of a market for new cars as well as manufacturing models which appeal to consumers across the region. This is even more impressive considering the challenges we saw in the overall European market during 2011," commented Gareth Hession, Vice President, Research at JATO.

Read More

Small Opel Helps Pull Down a Wall in Poland

A supermini would be the last type of vehicle any sane person would use to bring down a brick wall, but sanity is not a particularly useful attribute when it comes to having some fun… And that pretty much explains the 'whys' and 'hows' of this Polish experiment with a three-door Opel Corsa that you can enjoy in the video after the jump.

VIDEO

Read More