New Vectra: rushed in for '08

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Autocar.co.uk can bring you exclusive inside information on the all new Vauxhall Vectra. The new family Vauxhall, previewed in our artist's impression, was originally planned for a 2009 launch, but a dramatic slump in Vauxhall Vectra sales has left General Motors scrambling to get the car to showrooms as soon as possible.

Tear up the launch schedule

The Saab 9-5 was due to be the first General Motors product to use the company’s new mid-size platform, known as Epsilon 2, but a 10 per cent slide in European sales of the bigger-selling Vectra has forced GM to knock the Saab back in the schedule and focus resources on the Vauxhall/Opel product. It is aiming to get the Vectra (probably renamed Insignia, a badge last used on an Opel concept in 2003) into showrooms by autumn 2008.

Scoop pictures we published recently (see gallery) showed the new hatchback cold weather testing in the Arctic Circle. Like the new Mondeo, its main rival, the Insignia will be considerably larger than the car it replaces. The production car should have similar proportions to the GTC concept seen at Geneva last month, which is 4.7m long with a 1.8m-long load space.

It will also share some of the GTC’s coupé profile, with a steeply-sloping rear window and C-pillar to create a significantly more dramatic–looking car than the Vectra. The concept’s unusual upright air intakes below the headlights won’t make production, although the split grille with upper and lower intakes (visible in our scoop pictures) will.

A shift in market positioning

The scrapping of the Vectra name is linked to GM’s desire to improve Opel and Vauxhall’s image. GM Europe’s design boss Bryan Nesbitt said that they needed to add some emotional reasons to the mostly rational ones that people made when buying the Vectra; GM is after younger, trendier customers for the Opel/Vauxhall brands. “Better-looking cars on the road are better for the bottom line,” said a GM source — fewer fleet sales should mean better residual values and more confidence in the brand.

Inside, the Insignia will get the concept’s dashboard. Close examination of the GTC concept’s interior revealed that many of the components, including the dash top, centre console and door bins, were production-ready. GM Europe design chief Bryan Nesbitt confirmed that the company wants to greatly improve the car’s perceived cabin quality.

The front-drive chassis will be supplemented by a four-wheel-drive option, using a new generation of Haldex four-wheel drive transmission. It will be able to shift torque distribution from side to side as well as front to back, to reduce understeer when cornering.

The range-topping Insignia will also use a twin-turbo version of GM’s 2.8-litre petrol V6. Other engines include a new five-cylinder diesel, which we’ll see first in the new Saab 9-3.
 
That actaully looks....(dare I say it?)......good. Bet this is going to be there weapon to fight off the new Mondeo for some reason.
 
I wonder if the Saturn Aura is going to change as well.
 
Joey D
I wonder if the Saturn Aura is going to change as well.
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Given that it is pretty much a direct-descendant of the current Vectra, thats probably a good assumption. However, we are likely to have a year or so gap between the two vehicles, as it would obviously have to be slightly modified to match the US regulations and such...

BTW: I thought the '08 Chevrolet Malibu was going to be the first of the Epsilon II cars?
 
Looks like they used a photoshopped picture of a Mazdaspeed 6.
 
Probably, GM has really neglected the Saab line...it's kind of sad.
 
Joey D
Probably, GM has really neglected the Saab line...it's kind of sad.
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Don't forget that they just shifted the Buick boss over to Saab, to help boost Saab's performance in the US, which as I understand it is lagging behind Europe's extensively. My only arguement there is that they don't have an attractive model against that of Volvo or BMW, and thusly only Saab-types are buying into Saab products, which doesn't bode well for sales.

The recently spotted 9-4X doesn't seem like a realistic answer, and an updated 9-3 won't save them either. My idea: Throw some Zeta into the Saab stew for the new 9-5, think about building the Aero X on the Kappa chassis, and obviously make the 9-3 the basic-yet-awesome FWD model that it has always been, and always should be. I'd like to see a return to something like the 900 Turbo, among some of my favorite late '80s and early '90s models...
 
Seeing a new Viggen based on the 9-3 would be kind of cool. I wouldn't buy it, but I bet some people would.
 

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