Saturn Vue Comes Back to Life as the Chevrolet Captiva Sport for Rental Fleets

Meet General Motor’s newest offering in the world of rental vehicles; the Chevrolet Captiva Sport. Even though GM makes no word of the Saturn brand in the press release, most of you will probably see the Vue hiding behind the Chevy bow-tie on the grille. And that’s about the only difference between the Vue and the 2012MY Captiva Sport, which is also sold under various nameplates in more than 50 markets across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, the Middle East and South America.

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2010 Opel Astra Interior Unveiled: New Gallery with 45 High Res Photos

Opel and its sister company Vauxhall have published the first interior photos of the all-new, sixth generation Astra, which is due to make its world debut at this September's Frankfurt Motor Show and reach European showrooms by late this year. Along with the interior shots, the German automaker also issued a new set of studio photos as well as sketches of the Astra that show the evolution of the exterior and interior styling of the car.

As anticipated from the various spy shots, the 2010 Astra's cabin is a fresh reinterpretation of the Insignia's design, which isn't a bad thing at all. Highlights include the recurring wing and blade motifs, the wraparound instrument panel with deep set gauges and the ambient lighting that provides illumination from above the centre console and within the door handle recesses.

The company says that the interior also stands out due to the high quality of the materials which can be seen in areas like the grained, soft-touch surfaces, the textured panels, the chrome trim elements, and the feel of operating buttons and switches.

"Our goal was to make the perceptual quality in the interior of the next generation Astra as great as that of the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia," says Peter Hasselbach, in charge of Design Appearance Quality. "This is in line with Opel/Vauxhall's mission to bring innovations and quality to the compact class."

Opel claims that with the new Astra it has addressed one of the most common complaints on the previous model, that of limited storage areas in the cabin. The company said that it has created a raft of "clever storage solutions" like a shelled sunglass case inserted above the door opening on the driver's side, coin slots and pen holders moulded into the inside edge of the glove box lid while the glove box itself has two removable compartments.

There's also a second mini-glove box below the light switch, an under-seat drawer beneath the passenger seat which is big enough to hold a pair of shoes while the centre console can accommodate nine CD cases, as well as having a small storage area and an insert for two cup holders.

"It was important for the team not only to find places for the items to fit, but for the new Astra's interior to still look great, and maintain high quality standards throughout the cabin," says Max Kuncl, Performance Integration Manager.

For more details on the 2010 Opel / Vauxhall Astra click here.

New Opel Meriva MPV with Suicide Rear Doors Spied

The development of the next-generation Opel Meriva is moving ahead as planned with the German automaker removing more and more camouflage off the prototype models. In these latest scoop photos, the prototype Meriva has lost the confusing chequered black and white taping revealing many details on its design. Even though Opel has attempted to mislead us with a pair of fake rear-door handles, the new Meriva will retain the 2008 Geneva Show car's rear-hinged suicide doors called FlexDoors.

While the front doors are conventionally designed with front hinges, the Meriva's rear doors swing open towards the back of the car to a 90-degree angle. Another feature of the FlexDoors is that the front and rear doors can open independently of each other. GM's people support that the patented FlexDoors will make the Meriva more comfortable, versatile and safer than the current model.

The new Meriva will borrow several design cues from the Insignia including the front-end styling and the delta-wing blade on its flanks. While it won't be as exciting as the concept study, Opel's second-generation mini-MPV looks like it will be far more stylish than today's Meriva.

Same goes for the interior that is stylistically inspired from - you guessed it- the Insignia. Even though the car's design was a high-priority, GM did not forget about the Meriva's functional and practical side. Among other features, the 2010 Meriva will be equipped with Opel's variable FlexSpace rear seating system that allows the transformation of the vehicle from a five-seater to a four, three, two or even single seat vehicle without the need to remove seats.

The 2010 Meriva will adopt the latest version of GM's Gama platform sharing many of its underpinning with the new Corsa. It is expected that the new Meriva will grow in size offering improved space for passengers and their luggage.

While we don't have the full Monty on the powertrain options, it is anticipated that apart from the usual gasoline and diesel engines found in the Corsa, the new Meriva will also be available with GM's brand-new 1.4-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder petrol unit with outputs ranging from 120 hp to 140 HP.

Unlike its chief rivals that include the Honda Jazz and Citroen C3 Picasso, the Meriva's range will also feature a high-performance OPC version powered by a turbocharged 1.6-liter gasoline unit with an output of around 180-horsepower.

Sales of the new Meriva will begin in Europe in 2010. As for any chances seeing the Meriva in the U.S., for the time being, your guess is as good as ours.