Autoblog

GM's European divisions are preparing to unveil their latest show car at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show next month. The Meriva Concept is Opel and Vauxhall's study for what form the next Euro minivan could take.

The Meriva Concept, as previewed by the concept sketch above, draws on the previous GTC Coupe and Flextreme concepts and applies the theme to a monocab form, a segment in which Opel and Vauxhall account for one fifth of continental sales between the Zafira, Meriva and Agila MPVs. Expect the Meriva Concept to preview the direction that GM's European tall wagons will take in the near future, which could end up finding its way into a Saturn model or two on our side of the Atlantic. Press release after the jump.

[Source: Vauxhall]

Some of GM's European executives can sleep soundly these first few weeks of August, with Saab hitting record numbers in Europe, Chevrolet being up by 9.5 percent and overall sales in Eastern Europe growing a staggering 75 percent over July of 2005 on the performance of Chevy and Opel in the marketplace.

Opel/Vauxhall is also on track to make improvements the company promised in terms of market mix and quality of sales, according to a press release put out by GM Europe. The H3 is helping HUMMER sales in Europe, with the brand's numbesr having nearly quadrupled versus the first seven months of 2005, going from 269 to 983 units. Of course, that doesn't have quite the same ring to it as "up by 265 percent."

Opel/Vauxhall is still down a bit overall, which is impacting GM's overall market share in Europe. Cadillac is also down, thanks in part to the luke warm reception of the BLS sedan based on the Saab 9-3.

[Source: AutoSpectator]

GM Europe just took the wraps off its new Corsa three-door hatchback and already the Euro auto scene has been flooded with spy shots of a VXR model being tested under the guise of creative camouflaging. Speculation on how much power the Corsa VXR's turbocharged 1.6L will produce range from 160 bhp to 200 bhp. We're leaning towards the latter figure, as it would put the Corsa ahead of the Renaultsport Clio, if only by a few ponies. 0-60 is said to pass in about six seconds and it will top out on the Autobahn at around 150 mph. Along with a more suitable sports suspension and bigger brakes, the Corsa VXR will don business attire better able to express its intentions that includes flared arches, bigger air intakes and larger wheels.

[Source: AutoExpress, pic courtesy of Channel4]

Considering that the recently unveiled production version of the Opel Antara will likely become the next Saturn Vue sometime between 2008 and 2009, we thought you might want to see it from all angles, including the interior. You can check out the specs in our post from yesterday, or check out GM Europe's full press release after the jump along with a few more official pics.

[Source: GM Europe]

There seems to be a growing groundswell of rumors centering around a possible restructuring of GM's worldwide engineering staff. Reuters reports GM Europe as denying Thursday that it would announce engineering job reductions next week, apparently responding to this article in the Detroit Free Press, which forecasts a "Black Tuesday" next week for GM engineers in its North American operations.

According to the Free Press article, engineers at the GM's Tech Center in Warren, Michigan, believe that their jobs will be cut next Tuesday, and the evidence is pretty clear that something's going on. An unnamed GM executive calls it a "right-sizing" of engineering groups in both the U.S. and Europe.

Industry insider Peter DeLorenzo reports that engineering staff reductions will impact GM's central engineering operations in Warren, Milford and Pontiac, Michigan. DeLorenzo calls the layoffs "inevitable," as GM evolves from a predominantly U.S.-centric company to a more global operation.

[Sources: Reuters, The Detroit Free Press, AutoExtremist.com]