Opel and Vauxhall are developing a small vehicle to compete in the premium microcar segment. GM already has a car that size with the Chevrolet Spark, but it is not exactly on the level of the MINI and the Fiat 500. So as the market expands for little cars packed with features, GM is using Opel and Vauxhall’s slightly upmarket image (at least against Chevy) to create something small, fun and sporty.
The new car will come with a better pedigree than the Spark. Where the Chevy’s main development and production came from Daewoo in South Korea, the new kid has its development by Opel (they’ve been doing a good job engineering GM’s larger cars worldwide.) The new car will be based on its larger brother, the Corsa, and it will be produced in the Corsa’s home plant in Eisenach, Germany.
The new car has so far been developed under the codename “Junior”, but today Vauxhall revealed that the production car will be called “Adam”. Vauxhall wants people to think the name is rooted in how Adam is a universal and strong name, but to those who know a little about the German car industry, this name means a lot more.
Opel’s full corporate name is Adam Opel AG. It is named after the company’s founder Adam Opel, who’s name is well-known in Germany. Starting to see the connection?
So as much as Vauxhall wants to talk about the strength of the word “Adam”, it is likely that they had very little influence on the car’s name. Instead, the Adam is Opel’s tribute to its founder. Right now we only have a few spy shots before the car debuts in Paris this September, but we can’t wait to hear the official announcement as “Adam Opel presents the Opel Adam.”
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