Car Moon

Our spies have photographed and filmed the new Opel (Vauxhall in Britain) Astra Convertible on test in Germany. The vehicles caught testing here are early prototype models as the front doors appear to be carried over complete with their frames from the hatchback model.

Nevertheless, we are offered out first look at the open-top version of the new Astra series, which is planned to go on sale by early 2013. The most important change over the previous Astra TwinTop is the replacement of the more complicated, heavier and costly retractable metal roof with a traditional fabric hood.

It is really hard to believe, but a 27-year old man from The Netherlands plowed his parents house with his car after an argument. According to press reports from the local media, the man left his house and returned later in the day but not the way his parents were expecting as he picked up speed in his 1990s Opel Calibra sports coupe and drove or rather flew into the living room of his house!

Amazingly, no one was seriously injured in the rage-induced incident. The police arrested the young man who is now facing several charges. Check out the aftermath of the crash in the video after the break.

Across the pond, General Motors is upping the ante in the popular compact MPV sector with the introduction of Opel’s third generation Zafira model that will go on sale in most European countries this autumn. The production version of Opel’s Geneva show concept will also wear Vauxhall’s badges with the first cars to reach UK showrooms by early 2012.

We have already brought you the news and the first batch of photos in our previous post (see here), but now we have also obtained the launch film showing Opel’s people carrier on the move.

General Motors’ Opel division is getting ready to take the wraps off the all-new Astra GTC as the company released the first official renderings and a video of the production model shown in a virtual landscape.

The new sharp looking, three-door version of the Astra, will be revealed in the flesh and in detail in just six week’s time, on June 7, well ahead of its world premiere at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show, on September 15. Both Opel and its sister company in the UK, Vauxhall, will begin accepting orders in the summer with first deliveries expected this fall.

These are the first videos of Opel's new Zafira Tourer Concept, which will receive its grand premiere at next week's 2011 Geneva Salon. The first clip focuses on the relaxing "lounge atmosphere" found within the interior of the minivan, something that Opel highlighted more than anything else in the car's press release, while the second video showcases the new Flex7 seating concept. Hit the break to watch both clips for yourself.

Opel chose a rather unique way to inform us about its new concept model that previews the next generation of the Zafira people carrier, and which is scheduled to make its world premiere at the Geneva Salon in March. The company published a short video accompanied by a photograph showing the firm's design boss Mark Adams holding an iPad through which a hologram of the concept car pops out.

Meet the star of Opel's Paris Motor Show stand and probably one of the best looking concepts of this year's show, the GTC Paris Concept that will spawn next year's three-door Astra model.

Even though the mainstream variants of the production Astra GTC will lose the muscular bumpers, LEDs and tall 21-inch wheels of the design study, it's safe to say that what you see here is more or less what you'll get when the car arrives in Opel and Vauxhall showrooms across Europe in 2011.

For those wanting something closer in looks to the concept, there's good news as the flagship OPC model is expected to keep most of the styling features including the chunky bumpers.

After showing you some vids of the Range Rover Evoque on Friday, today we've got some press clips of Opel's GTC Paris hot hatch concept. First up is an artsy walkaround clip of the new hot hatch, but the more interesting video is the one in which Opel-Vauxhall calligrapher/graphic designer Ingrid Gollong gives us her take on the GTC's lines.

Opel has taken the wraps off its Vivaro e-Concept plug-in electric van at the 2010 IAA Commercial Vehicles Fair in Hannover, Germany. The one-off concept was built to demonstrate the benefits of electrification to commercial vehicle operators.

Along with the sportier three-door variant of the new Astra, General Motors' Opel division is also developing an MPV version of its C-segment model that will replace the current Zafira. Caught on film out and about at the Nurburgring track in Germany, the camouflaged prototype confirms that the new Opel (Vauxhall in the UK) Zafira won't get the funky FlexDoor system with the rear-hinged back doors of the Meriva, and will continue to use a conventional five-door layout instead.

Opel will soon bring the total body count of the new Astra range to three with the presentation of the sporty Astra GTC, also known as the Vauxhall Astra in Britain, that will join the already available five-door hatchback and the recently revealed, Sports Tourer estate.

Even though we'll have to wait for the Paris Motor Show in October for the official unveiling of the GTC, we can give you a glimpse of the sporty looking three-door Astra as two prototype models were caught on film during testing in Germany.

As you can see in the video after the jump, the first camouflaged Astra GTC features a single tail pipe at each corner of the rear bumper and beefy tire/alloy combos, suggesting it's a turbocharged model, quite possibly, the rumored GSi that's said to be fitted with a more potent version of the 1.6-liter turbo delivering a little over 200HP.

The estate version of the new Opel / Vauxhall Astra has been spotted doing the rounds at the Nurburgring.

Scheduled to be shown for the first time this summer with a Paris Motor Show debut to follow in autumn 2010, the Astra Sports Tourer looks like a smaller version of the Insignia station wagon boasting a more raked roofline and a less boxy / conservative shape than the current model.

Some guy in a Vauxhall Astra VXR Nürburgring Edition went to the notorious Nordschleife to try to live up to the name on the side of his car and made a booboo. Hey, no sweat, these things happen all the time.

People get a little antsy in the pantsy, lose their concentration, and wreck their car. The real point of interest here is the potential costs involved (other than that of a damaged car and pride).

Having already published a whole bunch of photos and information on the 2010 Meriva, Opel and sister brand Vauxhall came out with a couple of videos of their newest entry in the small MPV segment that will have its world premiere at the Geneva Salon in March.

The practical five-seater model with suicide rear doors will be offered with six turbocharged diesel and gasoline engines, spanning from 75HP to 140HP. Watch both videos after the break.

Chevrolet isn't the only brand in the GM Group playing around with vivid colors and special editions that hark back to models of the 60s and 70s. So is the firm's European division Opel that has released a new exclusive edition of the Corsa supermini called 'Color Race' inspired from the late 1960s - early 1970s Rallye Kadett B Sprint.

Those of you that have followed the WRC the past few decades will surely remember the Opel Ascona 400, the last rear-wheel drive rally car to win the driver's World Championship in 1982 with Walter Röhrl before the iconic Audi Coupe Quattro paved the way for all-wheel drive models.

Fast-forward almost thirty years, and the (road-going) Ascona's spiritual successor, the Insignia (2010 Buick Regal in the States), is now offered with an Adaptive 4x4 system as an option on the 220HP 2.0-liter and standard on the 2.8 V6 Turbo and OPC models.

Here's the latest batch of videos of Opel's new high-performance model, the 325HP Insignia OPC or if you live in the UK, the Vauxhall Insignia VXR. Along with a promotional film that shows the sedan and estate (Sports Tourer) versions of the OPC on the road, Opel also published a video of the range-topping Insignia at the Nurburgring race track.

Once upon a time not too long ago, you'd consider yourself lucky if you found a single official video of a newly presented car. Nowadays, carmakers churn them out like sausages at a factory. Only today, along with the first official interior shots of the Astra, Opel released five new videos on its hatchback. Something tells us that most will stop at the first animated film showing the Astra's interior, but for those that might be interested, there's four more films including an interview with Mark Adams, VP of Design at GM Europe and with John Puskar, Director of Interior Design. The latter seems like the kind of guy who'd design a really, really, relaxed cabin...

Looks like General Motors' UK division is trying its hand at viral marketing with a new video showing 2010 Astra hatchback outpacing a VW Golf MKVI and a Ford Focus at the Millbrook Proving Ground test track in Bedfordshire, England. The driver behind the wheel of the Astra is none other than Vauxhall's own BTCC pilot, Fabrizio Giovanardi. If you turn up the volume and pay attention, you might hear some weird mechanical noises coming out of the Astra but guess that makes it a bit more realistic... Will be interesting to see if Ford and VW play along, but until then follow the jump to watch the video.

Opel has stepped up its media efforts on the 2010 Astra providing new footage from the development phase of the most powerful version yet of the five-door hatchback that is powered by GM's 1.6-liter turbocharged petrol engine delivering an output of 180 horsepower. As with the previous film on the Astra, the video was shot during testing at Opel's track center which located in Pferdsfeld, Germany.