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- Be our guest: Car show hostess Doris and her male counterpart present the Opel highlights of the 85th International Geneva Motor Show. That means: Clear the stage for the stars by Opel.
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- 88-61-93, these are the measurements of Doris Rousene, the Opel hostess, nicknamed “La Plus Belle”, the most beautiful. In a direct comparison KARL scores in his own way: the 3.68 meter short five-door car offers space for up to five people or optionally 940 liters of stowage. What is more, …
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- …KARL comes fitted with numerous safety and comfort features that customers do not expect in this price category. In addition to standard Hill Start Assist, the Lane Departure Warning integrated in the front camera is a further safety feature highlight.
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- Opel Chefdesigner Mark Adams erläutert die Vorzüge des Kleinstwagens: Mit dem KARL rollt die ideale Kombination aus bestem Raumangebot und kompakten Außenmaßen auf die Bühne. Er ist das ideale Auto für preisbewusste Kunden, die Alltagstauglichkeit mit Komfort, sparsamem Verbrauch und modernen Technologien verbinden möchten.
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- Name twins on stage: Opel CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann proudly presents the KARL that sparks with three main features – compact, affordable, sophisticated. By the way, in the Vauxhall variant the KARL goes by the name VIVA.
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- This happens when you combine connected safety and security solutions for a car show: Opel OnStar enters 13 European markets in 2015. Opel will be introducing the new mobility and service assistant across the company’s passenger car range from August 2015.
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- Opel OnStar is a system that connects passengers 24/7 with a personal contact – or automatically calls for help. In addition, OnStar offers many innovative services such as roadside assistance, remote vehicle diagnostics and an integrated WLAN hotspot.
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- High-speed Internet is part of our lives – why not finally on board? The 4G LTE connection enables a Wi-Fi hotspot, allowing up to seven devices to connect in and around the vehicle. Passengers will be able to stay in touch with family and friends via social media, play games, stream movies or watch TV via their favorite app or to work while away from the office.
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- OnStar advisers will initially be recruited to work at a call centre in Luton and they will be available for 24 hours every day of the year. At a push of an SOS button, OnStar users can request assistance whenever they deem it necessary, for example, if they witness an accident. The OnStar buttons will be located in the overhead centre console or the rear-view mirror on some cars.
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- They know how it works – and demostrate the OnStar technology to the female guest on the back seat of the Cascada: Sara Nicholson, OnStar Product Manager, Europe, Brian McCreavy, Region Manager, OnStar Subscriber Services, Europe, and David Voss, Customer Experience Europe (from left to right).
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- They pushed the OnStar project forward and are proud of the result: Vice President Vehicle Engineering Europe Charlie Klein, Vice President HR & Labor Director Opel Group Ulrich Schumacher, Opel Group CEO Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann, Vice President & CMO Opel Group Tina Müller, Vice President & CFO Opel Group Michael Lohscheller, Vice President Sales & Aftersales Opel Group Peter Christian Küspert and Vice President Communications Opel Group Johan Willems.
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- So wild that he needs minders: With its 207 hp the new Corsa OPC is able to sprint from a standstill to 100 km in 6.8 seconds. When you depress the throttle pedal of that top athlete you reach a top speed of 230 km/h.
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- The unleashed OPC beast: “The new Corsa OPC impressively proves how high our engineers have set the bar in the sporty small car segment. It is the fastest Corsa ever – validated on the Nürburgring,” says Peter Christian Küspert, Vice President Sales & Aftersales Opel Group.
WELCOME TO THE SALLE MONTANA
The members of the international media flocked to the Salle Montana in the Starling Hotel in Geneva for Opel’s pre-event to witness two world premieres of the new Opel KARL and the new Corsa OPC along with the 1.0 ECOTEC Direct Injection Turbo engine as well as the European debut of Opel OnStar. Due to the ideal location of the venue, just a short distance from Geneva International Airport, many travelling journalists took the opportunity to stock up on the latest Opel news before heading to their respective hotels and preparing for a busy day at the Geneva Motor Show.
Great proportions, highly attractive: KARL is presented by model Sylwia. German Opel dealers alone have already ordered 15,000 cars, even though the KARL will not be at dealerships until June.
Upon arrival in the Salle Montana the members of the media were greeted by a relaxed atmosphere, smiling Opel employees, attractive models, beverages, snacks and, of course, two brand new shiny Opel KARLs on stage.
KARL: THE SMALL CAR, BASED ON REASON, OFFERS DRIVING FUN
One day before the official world premiere, Opel’s new entry-level model, available from a mere euro 9,500 in Germany, made its first appearance on the big scene. “Every detail reflects German precision, the roofline makes it really dynamic and the signature blade on the door makes the car look slimmer. The proportions are great – compact on the outside, spacious on the inside. Overall, it is a winning design,” said Kurt Beyer, Chief Designer GME New Global Small interior.
His enthusiasm for the smallest Opel star was clearly shared by KARL’s Product and Pricing Manager Diane Schreiber. “KARL has all of the Opel virtues. It combines versatility with usability and fits in with our goal of making innovative technologies available for a wider audience,” she explained. City mode, Park Assist, cornering light or heated leather steering are just some of the available features.
When the journalists had finished checking out KARL in detail their eyes would wander the room and immediately fall on an innocent-looking Cascada. Opel’s convertible is not new, has not had a facelift, has not been fitted with a new engine… So why was it at the pre-event? And why were so many people gathering around it? A closer look revealed Opel’s next little Geneva star – Opel OnStar.
THE CASCADA PROVIDES THE NEXT GENEVA STAR
From August, Opel OnStar will be rolled out across Opel’s passenger car range making every new Opel a powerful Wi-Fi hotspot and giving drivers and passengers access to a wide array of services such as automatic crash response, remote vehicle diagnostics and destination download to name but a few. With this ground breaking technology finally making its way to Europe Sara Nicholson, OnStar Product Manager, Europe and Brian McCreavy, Region Manager, OnStar Subscriber Services, Europe were extremely popular figures with the media.
In the limelight: During the Motorshow Opel CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann has lots of requests by journalists. Neumann highlights how strongly Opel stands for its models’ superb value for money.
OPEL ONSTAR: NEW MOBILITY AND SERVICE ASSISTANT
Armed with tablets, Nicholson and McCreavy demonstrated the advantages of the new mobility and service assistant and explained the functionality of the SOS, Service and Privacy Buttons.
“It was a busy day but I am delighted with the amount of interest shown in Opel OnStar. We strongly believe that it will change driving as we know it and the feedback from the journalists has been very positive. Privacy seems to be everybody’s biggest concern so explaining that turning on a mobile phone reveals more personal data than OnStar does is an important point to make,” said Nicholson.
Technical conversation: Matthias Alt (left), Opel’s Chief Engineer, Small Gasoline Engines explains the idea behind the development of the 1.0 ECOTEC Direct Injection Turbo. Alt’s interlocutors: Erik Morsing (center), PR Manager Denmark & Sweden, Nicholas Parts (right), Managing Director Opel Sweden.
With the new Opel KARL and Opel OnStar obviously getting the most attention in the Salle Montana the third Opel star had to deliver something stellar to get its share of attention – and it did. The 1.0 ECOTEC Direct Injection Turbo known from KARL’s small car team-mates ADAM and Corsa could be responsible for Opel’s next prize as it is in the race for the prestigious Engine of the Year Award. It consumes 4.2 (90 hp) and 4.9 liters (115 hp) of fuel per 100 km in the combined cycle.
AWARD-WINNING? ONLY TIME WILL TELL
The refined three-cylinder engine has already received a lot of positive feedback with German car magazine Auto Bild writing: “Rarely has a three-cylinder engine had such a sonorous sound. It offers quick acceleration, is fast and extremely snappy.” Dr. Matthias Alt, Opel’s Chief Engineer, Small Gasoline Engines explained the idea behind the development of the engine. “In developing this small engine, we not only set out to minimize fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, we also wanted to demonstrate that three cylinders can be just as refined as four or more,” he said. Hopefully, the Engine of the Year jury will share the enthusiasm of the chief engineer.
ICING ON THE CAKE
While most members of the media were busy taking in the news on KARL, Opel OnStar and the 1.0 ECOTEC Direct Injection Turbo, Opel had a final special treat in store for selected journalists. Just outside the Starling Hotel an experienced and dedicated OPC fan was waiting to take them for a spin in the emotional and sporting spearhead of Opel’s small car portfolio – the new Corsa OPC.
The person trusted with given the media an initial insight into the 207 hp and 230 km/h fast Corsa OPC was none other than Opel Group CEO Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann.
Clothing area: The brand logo looks fresh on the t-shirts presented at the Geneva stand. Moreover, several Opel clothing collections, toys and gadgets are available at the Opel Store in Rüsselsheim or at www.opel-collection.com.
Unfortunately, we will never know what was said during the test drive around the Palexo Exhibition Center but sometimes looks can reveal more than a thousand word – and judging by the look on Dr. Neumann’s and the journalists faces when they returned – the OPC had definitely hit its mark, creating a twinkle in the eyes of the driver and the passengers and putting the icing on the cake of a successful pre-event.
The Swiss Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard, Head of Federal Office of Transport, Environment, Energy and Communications (DETEC), in the glass Opel: She is being informed about all applications and communicating with the call center.
Text: Mark Bennett, photos: Axel Wierdemann