While we were talking about the Escalade EXT launch with Susan Docherty (don’t ask) during the Regal reveal at the Hollywood Palladium last week, Car & Driver’s Steve Siler was pushing Maximum Bob about sportier versions of the newest Buick. Now, we heard mumblings about a new Buick Regal GS last month, but that was just dealer hearsay. Siler’s report is straight from Lutz’s mouth, and while he’s not exactly the most reliable GM exec we’ve ever talked with, he does seem to have his finger on the General’s performance pulse.

To summarize a bit, a 335-hp, all-wheel-drive manny-tranny version of the Regal might be coming, labeled with the legendary GS badge. There might even be a wagon version of the top of the line Regal – maybe even one with GM’s eLSD torque vectoring. In fact, Lutz made it sound like GM might just import the 325-hp turbocharged 2.8-liter V6 Opel Insignia OPC Sports Tourer, crank up the boost a smidge and slap a Regal GS badge on it – which is more than totally fine with us. In fact, Siler suggests that what GM ought to do is make the tip top Regal wagon-only – sort of like the MazdaSpeed3 or WRX STI. Maybe call it the Buick Regal GSX? But like most such things involving GM these days, we’ll believe it when we see it.

[Source:Autoblog]

The battle for Opel has added another front: Opel labor unions at two of the company’s German factories retracted an agreement made last year to forgo vacation bonuses. The move demands that General Motors pay the laborers €70 million ($100.2M U.S.) by next week, the amount that they agreed to give up when GM was trying to rescue itself. Workers at two other Opel factories in Germany are expected to make the same move some time this week. The workers want GM to sell to Magna, and if The General doesn’t make its intentions plain soon, the next step will be for Opel labor to demand the wage hike they waived last year, which would see the automaker owe another several hundred million euros.

According to Automotive News, GM’s board met to discuss which bidder, Magna or RHJ, it would go with, but instead of making a decision it sent its lead negotiator back to Germany to talk to government officials. As of last week, there were rumors of GM wanting a buyback option for Opel, which could get GM quickly back into Europe when the company restores its fortunes. The option seemed to make RHJ the leading bidder, but not the one German government or labor wants.

If RHJ wins, it will get no state aid. If Magna wins, it has been pledged €4.5B ($6.4B U.S.) in government loans. The disadvantage could cause RHJ to deal with Opel drastically, which would greatly displease a whole lot of Germans. Perhaps that is why there is now talk of GM not selling Opel at all, instead looking to raise $4.3 billion to keep Opel in the family. With GM barely out of bankruptcy, and with economies still shaky, observers aren’t sure where GM would get that kind of money. It is thought that GM will announce its intentions in the next day or so.

[Source: Automotive News, sub req'd]

[Source:Autoblog]

General Motors was meant to decide who would be the winning bidder for Opel last Friday. But it didn’t. Instead, GM asked the German government for more information on federal financial assistance available to buyers. The German government would like Magna to take over Opel as it vowed to retain a huge chunk of jobs in Germany, but GM has given every indication of preferring Belgian investment fund RHJ.

GM wants to know how much money RHJ would get in case it was chosen to buy Opel. It looks like GM still has issues with Magna buying Opel and is looking for a way to choose RHJ and save at least a little face with the German government. If RHJ can get an attractive financial package from the feds, it can also save more jobs than it might be inclined to otherwise, and GM doesn’t have to worry about Russian competitors using its own technology.

The German government wants none of it, though. It has called on the United States government to get GM to make a decision. That isn’t likely to happen, but it shows how intense things are with Opel, politicians, labor and upcoming elections. On a side note, the BBC reported that part of GM’s plan could include a buy-back option for Opel, which, if true, would probably make a lot more sense for RHJ than Magna.

[Source: Auto News, sub req'd]

[Source:Autoblog]

Over the last several years, and until General Motors’ finances dictated that the Saturn brand had to be dispensed with entirely, it had become the North American outlet for Opel vehicles. Aside from the Outlook, all of Saturn’s current models are based on their Opel equivalents. The most recent speculation about Saturn’s fate had the dealer network being taken over by Roger Penske with a future vehicle supply coming from Renault via its South Korean subsidiary.

With this weekend’s agreement in principle that supplier Magna International would take over control Opel, those speculative plans could be about to change. Magna chairman Frank Stronach told the Globe and Mail he wants to see Opel vehicles built in Canada. While Penske — or any other Saturn suitor — might have preferred to source future vehicles from Opel, getting them from Europe would prohibitively expensive with a weak dollar. However, if vehicles are sourced from a Canadian facility, it could become a viable prospect. The problem is Magna doesn’t have a car assembly plant in Canada, but several Canadian plants are either scheduled to close or are without future product commitments, so Magna could end up buying a factory like the Oshawa truck plant from GM or even Chrysler.

[Source:Autoblog]

General Motors is very close to selling its Opel unit, with Canadian supplier Magna and Italian automaker Fiat among the suitors. If Magna and its Russian partners Gaz and Sberbank scores the winning bid for Opel, the parts supplier has big plans for the German brand and its factories. Automotive News Europe and German newspaper Welt am Sonntag both have quoted sources within Magna stating that the supplier could produce vehicles for other automakers. Furthermore, both Ford and Peugeot are reportedly interested in using the factory space, which makes sense considering the cost of opening new facilities.

While GM will have the final say regarding an Opel sale, the German government will have considerable sway in the matter. After all, the German government is likely providing up to 3.3 billion euros in financial support to keep Opel afloat. That may give Magna an advantage, since Fiat has said that it would close the Opel factory in Kaiserslautern, Germany, while Magna doesn’t plan to close any German facilities.

[Souce: Monsters and Critics]

[Source:Autoblog]

Wilcox Limousine in England distributes the Vauxhall Statesman in both six-door, three-row limousine and hearse configurations. The company has already begun eying the new Insignia for dignitary and funeral duty, and the result is rendered above. It’s not all that bad for a limo conversion, but we had no idea that so many people were requesting to be chauffeured to the airport and The Great Beyond in stretched Vauxhalls. On the plus side, you’ll find leather trim, walnut door cappings and a full divider on the inside. “Unbeatable prices” can’t hurt, either. Check out the next Statesman limo and hearse in the gallery below.

[Source:Autoblog]

Mercedes-Benz’ in-house tuning arm, AMG, has announced the horsepower wars are over, and the automaker is gearing up to implement a new range of technologies that will help reduce fuel consumption by 2012.

According to AutoTelegraaf, M-B will introduce start-stop technology on AMG models as early as next year, along with launching a direct-injection system based of the second-generation currently employed on the C350 CGI BlueEfficiency. The automaker has set an internal goal of reducing fuel consumption across its line-up by 30% in the next three years. While diesels and new engine technologies will go a long way to achieving that goal, Mercedes plans to begin reducing the weight of its vehicles through the use of more composite materials and other weight-saving assembly procedures.

[Source:Autoblog]

Looks like there won’t be much of a fiesta for Ford this year, as the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia has captured the 2009 European Car of the Year award by just one point over the hot little hatch with the big blue oval on its snout. Scoring 321 points to the Fiesta’s 320, the Insignia claimed the victory with the bronze going to the Volkswagen Golf (223 points). It’s the first win for Opel in 22 years, although the European branch of GM has scored four runner-up spots in the past. You might even say this is payback for Ford, which snatched the top prize from Opel in 2007 when the Ford S-Max nipped the Corsa by two points in the balloting. According to the jurors, the Insignia won this year based on its “artistry with German precision” good looks, active and passive safety features, comfort and a wide array of efficient engines including that 280-hp turbo V6. Options such as the Opel Eye that reads road signals, FlexRide suspension and nine-mode Adaptive Forward Lighting were also cited. Hopefully this car will eventually show up Stateside as the next Saturn Aura. Thanks for the tip, everyone!

[Source:Autoblog]