Described by Vauxhall/Opel’s British Vice President of Design, Mark Adams, as ‘…an expressive yet functional interior with great roominess and visibility’, the Meriva’s cabin is set to wow media and public when the car receives its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

Combining a fresh interpretation of Vauxhall’s interior wing theme, seen in the Insignia and new Astra, the Meriva’s designers have lowered and moved the instrument panel forward, creating more space and comfort for front occupants. The Meriva’s commanding driving position has also been improved, with narrower, realigned A-pillars and larger quarter-lights. In the rear, the lower ‘wave’ window line increases visibility for passengers, especially children.

FlexRail – transforming the conventional centre console

The Meriva’s unique FlexRail system provides convenient and adaptable storage for a wide range of everyday items, from handbags and colouring books to iPods and sunglasses.

Space for the FlexRail between the front seats has been liberated by raising the gearshift location and replacing the traditional handbrake with an easy to use electric park brake button (standard on all models). The result is an uninterrupted storage zone that extends rearward from the base of the centre stack and is accessible from the rear seats.

FlexRail’s floor module comprises two cup holders, Aux-in/USB connections and a 12-volt socket. Above this area, on certain models, twin polished aluminium rails feature, and on the range-topping SE a flip-top armrest module is attached, with a smaller storage/cup holder tray sitting below it. Both can be shifted into a variety of fixed positions along the rails, while rear seat passengers benefit from the option of a rear armrest module, which can be fitted to the centre seat back section when it’s folded down between them.

FlexSpace rear seating system – more intuitive than ever before

The new Meriva’s innovative FlexSpace system offers a range of cabin configurations without having to remove any seats, and is now improved with a one-step action when sliding the rear seat cushions or when lowering the rear seatbacks.

While FlexSpace makes it easy for owners to convert the Meriva from five seats to two, both its outer rear seats can be moved fore and aft individually, and also slide inwards to provide more shoulder width and leg room in a spacious four-seat layout. Additionally, rear seat backs can be fully lowered without having to remove their head restraints.

Rear seatbacks up, the Meriva’s boot has a 400-litre capacity, increasing to 920-litres with the seatbacks folded. But use all the space up to the roof and an impressive 1500-litres capacity is available.

Clever storage where it matters

Taking a leaf out of the new Astra’s book, Vauxhall’s designers have created real-world storage solutions for 20 of the most popular items owners carry in their cars.

An ample glovebox has a space-saving shelf for the owner’s manual, as well as coins and pens. Elsewhere, there’s a mini glovebox on the driver’s side, while door pockets can carry drinks bottles of up to 1.5-litre capacity in the front and up to 1.0-litre in the rear. Above the driver’s door, there’s a flip-down compartment for sunglasses, and on certain models a pull-out draw is available beneath the front passenger seat, suitable for books or valuable items.

In the luggage area, the floor can be set to bumper height for ease of loading and under-floor stowage, while storage compartments are provided in the boot’s sidewalls. The Meriva’s parcel shelf can be removed and stowed neatly away behind the rear seats.

To keep its performance as exhilarating as its exterior, the Corsa Color Race boast significant chassis and steering improvements that start in the full Corsa range with the Model Year 10.5 and that improve comfort, handling and steering and keep the Corsa fun to drive.

The Corsa Color Race can be powered by a range of new engines that are at the same time powerful and fuel efficient – like the new 1.4 gasoline engine with 64 kW87 hp (only 5.3 l/100 km for the wide range version; 5.5 l/100 km when equipped with the close range gearbox) or 74kW100 hp (which only requires 5.5 l/100 km). The powerful 96 kW/130 hp 1.7 CDTI combines 300 Nm torque with a fuel consumption of 4.5 liter/100 km. All in all, the re-worked powertrains – the latest example of Opel’s pledge to focus on environmentally compatible solutions – offer higher torque while boasting up to 13 percent lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

The Color Race line fits the 3-door models particularly well, with its sporty contour and exciting, coupéish design. It comes with a standard black hood as well as side and tailgate appliqués with a checkered flag motif, black painted roof and black 17-inch alloy wheels. These racing accents coupled with the yellow, white, or red exterior lacquer turn every model into a winning combination. Especially in yellow, this bi-color look is reminiscent of such legendary sporty Opel models as the Rallye Kadett B Sprint from the early 70s.

The Color Race interior features special matching color highlights, like special seat stitching and vent bezels, a Panorama sunroof and a leather-clad steering wheel.

The Opel Corsa Color Race is also available with innovative technologies like halogen AFL curve and cornering lights and heated steering wheel.

Lexmaul has improved the face of the new Opel Astra with a new radiator grill. Instead of the Opel logo this bears a grill in the colour of the vehicle. As an optional extra it can also be supplied in real carbon.

The Astra’s headlights have been given an almost traditional covering for the „evil eye“. The standard front spoiler is improved with the addition of spoiler corners. And the side skirts have also been both optically and aerodynamically improved by adding extra corners in front of the rear wheels.

The rear view of the new Opel Astra has received a spoiler on the rear roof and a diffuser on the standard skirt. The Astra can also be upgraded by installing various exhaust systems – the highlight here is the four pipe version with two pipes each on the left and right hand side – along with the appropriate rear valance. The Astra’s splendid new appearance is highlighted by Lexmaul’s own light alloy rims which are available in sizes 18, 19 and 20 inch.

The PPC tuning will be available from the beginning of 2010. Then the new Astra will be able to increase its performance by up to 20% with the press of a button.

First the vehicle with special H&R springs became the front axle 45 and Rear axle 35mm axle lower (price 198.90 euros) and provides for an optimal Road-hugging property in combination with the original absorbers of the OPC `S.

The car is equipped with special racing rims from Barracuda Velvet 8,5×19+9,5×19 and special ET the wheel housing was optimally filled out. The tyre is at the front axle 245/35/19 and rear axle 255/35/19 (price for the wheel set starting from 2200 euros depending upon tire mark).

Body work is not necessary with this wheel tire combination. The car get more horse power with a electronic engine tuning(799 euros) and the result is 285 HP and 480 Nm.

-Set to replicate current Astra’s success as best-selling British-built car
-Bold, distinctive exterior design matched with spacious, premium-feel cabin
-All new chassis with adaptive damping will raise bar in class for comfort & handling

Marking the sixth generation of Astra in 30 years, the new car’s design team was led by Mark Adams, the British designer responsible for last year’s European Car of the Year-winning Vauxhall Insignia.

With its strong, cab-forward silhouette, steeply-raked windscreen and sloping rear roofline, the new Astra makes ingenious use of many of the design features found in the Insignia, but in a fresh and innovative way. Also like the Insignia, it has spent over 600 hours in the wind tunnel, benefiting performance, economy and overall refinement.

“We’re continuing with the same premium design cues as the Insignia, inside and out of the car,” said Adams, Vice President of GM Europe Design. “However, the main design themes, like the wing-shaped light signatures and the blade, needed an individual execution to avoid ‘cloning’ the model ranges. This is why, for instance, you see twin wings in the rear lights and a reversed blade on its flanks.”

Underpinning the Astra’s rakish, 4.4 metre-length body, is an all-new chassis with a 71 millimetre-longer wheelbase, benefiting both passenger comfort and packaging. Wider tracks front and rear feature, as does a new rear axle design, which not only improves stability and agility, but takes the Astra’s ride comfort into a different league.

Enhancing the Astra’s dynamic performance still further is the option of Vauxhall’s clever FlexRide system, a rarity in this sector which offers drivers three unique damper settings – standard, sport and tour – while being fully adaptive to changes in driving style and cornering speed.

Pictures of the new Astra’s interior will be released soon, but in the meantime expect similar strides in quality to those found in the Insignia, combined with big improvements in packaging, seat design and in-cabin storage. Mark Adams’ unique wrap-round dash treatment will also appear in the Astra, but with a different take on that found in the Insignia.

Unique in this sector will be the Astra’s optional, latest generation AFL (Adaptive Forward Lighting), which features bi-xenon lighting that changes its intensity and reach to suit prevailing road conditions. A similar system was introduced on the Insignia, and is now recognised as one of the most advanced systems available.

The highlight of the new Astra’s powertrain line-up is the introduction of an all-new, 140PS turbocharged 1.4-litre petrol unit, which builds on Vauxhall’s commitment to engine downsizing and reduced emissions/fuel consumption, while retaining the performance of a larger capacity vehicle. The 1.4T joins three further petrol engines, which range from 100PS to 180PS, and four diesel engines ranging from 95PS to 160PS. All engines are Euro 5 compliant.

“The only part of the Astra which isn’t new is its name,” said Andy Gilson, Vauxhall’s Marketing Director. “And that name currently accounts for around 30 per cent of all Vauxhall’s car sales, with the five-door hatch taking 60 per cent of those sales alone – so it’s important to lead with this body style. Not only is the Astra a crucial new model for Vauxhall, but we’re confident that its blend of dynamic design, new-to-class technology and immense driver appeal will attract an even broader spectrum of buyers in this sector.”

London. As workers hauled a 4.7 meter-diameter orb from Potters Fields Park, a massive object fell 45 meters in six seconds and was caught at the last minute, revealing an intact car never seen before by the public – the Opel Insignia.

-New mid-sized sedan revealed to public in dramatic event
-Forty-five meter drop in six seconds onto Potters Fields Park
-Technical data and pricing announced tomorrow at the London Motor Show

More than 300 invited guests were on hand to watch the new car plunge from the orb as it was suspended in the air. “We are very proud of the Insignia and decided that an extraordinary car needed an extraordinary entrance. That’s why we choose to drop in at one of London’s most frequented and iconic locations: Tower Bridge just next to the London Assembly,” says Alain Visser, Chief Marketing Officer for GM Europe, who drove the Insignia onto the stage.

The Insignia debuts tomorrow, July 22, at the British International Motor Show, where Opel will announce the vehicle’s technical data as well as its price in Germany. Sales begin immediately in Germany for both the hatchback and notchback versions with a line-up of seven engines. All meet Euro 5 emissions standards and come with six-speed transmissions, either manual or automatic.

The new Insignia also is the stage on which Opel showcases many leading technological innovations. That is another reason for the car’s dramatic entrance: To highlight the car company’s dedication to exactitude.

On Saturday, the 3.2 ton orb “crashed” to earth. A 62 meter-high crane on Sunday lifted the orb out of its massive crater on Potters Fields in a mock clean-up mission to pique the curiosity of the public. Monday, the car dramatically fell 45 meters back to earth. The trick for organizers was to ensure a safe landing.

“We wanted to highlight the attention to detail and the high focus on precision that went into developing the new Opel Insignia. As with the Insignia, this event had to be meticulously coordinated down to the last minute detail,” Visser adds.

Using the latest technology available, a team of 60 people worked more than 7,200 accumulative hours to plan, set-up, rehearse and execute the stunt. They worked 96 continuous hours on-site at Potters Fields to ensure success of the car’s high-speed fall, allowing the vehicle to reach a descent speed of 7.6 meters per second.

The machine that made this possible required roughly 3 kilometers of power and control cables; it contained 152 meters of air hoses and more than 120 air fittings. Thirteen computer-controlled pneumatic brakes stopped more than 2.7 tons traveling at breakneck speed.

The event was emceed by Kate Thornton, a British journalist and television presenter best known in the UK as the first presenter of The X Factor and known internationally as a presenter of the VH1 coverage of the Concert for Diana. The day was capped by a performance by the all-woman British musical group Bond, whose recent Classified has sold more than three million CDs.

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Opel will showcase to the public for the first time at the British International Motor Show (July 23 – August 3) both the four-door notchback and five-door hatchback versions of its new flagship car, the Insignia.

-Choice between equally elegant and dynamic notchback and hatchback
-Sleek, aerodynamic body has class-leading Cd value of 0.27
-The New Opel Insignia notchback and hatchback on sale before the end of the year

The new Opel Insignia highlights breathtaking design: Both body styles boast a flowing, muscular yet elegant silhouette with a coupé roofline. Designers of the new car deliberately created similar versions to retain the beauty of Opel’s latest mid-sized car. The length of both the notch and hatchback, at 4,830 mm, and the wheelbase of 2,737 mm remain the same.

The Insignia’s fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and driving dynamics benefit from the aerodynamic efficiency that was perfected during more than 650 hours in the wind tunnel. The result: A class-leading drag coefficient of 0.27.

Offering both the notchback and hatchback from the start is particularly important for markets such as the U.K. and France, where 5-door sedans traditionally enjoy a high market share of the mid-size class segment. German and Spanish customers, on the other hand, generally prefer notchback sedans. Prices for the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Austria and Switzerland will be announced July 22 in London and cars will hit German dealerships before the end of the year. Opel expects both models to sell in about equal numbers.

From the beginning, the Insignia will be launched with a broad line-up of motors. Seven engines will be available; all meet Euro 5 emissions standards and come coupled with six-speed transmissions. The four gasoline engines range from a four-cylinder 115 hp unit to a V6 with 260 hp. Three new direct-injection turbo-diesels exclusively developed for the Insignia feature a displacement of 2.0 liters and power outputs spanning from 110 to 160 hp.

The newly developed chassis can be enhanced with the innovative, integrated FlexRide mechatronic system, as well as the sophisticated Adaptive 4×4. Its lightning-fast distribution of torque over the four wheels ensures top stability and traction while improving dynamic handling performance.

All New Opel Insignia Officialy Revealed

Opel introduces a first: A camera that aids drivers in two different ways. The Traffic Sign Recognition function reads speed limit and no-passing signs and displays them on the instrument panel. The Lane Departure Warning alerts drivers when they unintentionally veer out of their lane. Together, these two systems improve driving safety, reduce stress and can even prevent costly speeding tickets.

“These new features follow Opel’s philosophy of enhancing driving excitement by assisting drivers without reducing their level of control.” explains Hans Demant, managing director of Opel. “That means the system gives drivers information, but it doesn’t intervene.”

Known as the Opel Eye, the wide-angle, high-resolution camera and processors were jointly developed by GM/Opel engineers in Rüsselsheim and specialists from supplier Hella. The camera, located between the windshield and the rear-view mirror, detects road signs and lane markings. It is not much bigger than a mobile phone yet can take 30 pictures per second. Two signal processors, with the help of proprietary GM software, filter and read the photos.

Attention: This is the new speed limit!

The Traffic Sign Detection can read speed limit and no-passing signs and even notify drivers when speed restrictions have been lifted. Depending on light conditions, the system begins to recognize and repeatedly read signs at 100 meters. It starts by focusing on circular patterns then identifies the numbers inside them via contour comparison. If a picture matches an image of a road sign in the car’s software, the sign is displayed in the instruments panel..

The system always displays the most relevant information for safe driving, filtering out many signs that may overwhelm drivers. If two signs are recognized in close proximity to one another, then special notice signs, like “no passing” restriction would take precedence over a speed limit sign.

The notices are displayed for a few seconds as a symbol in the center of the instrument panel between the main round dials. In addition, drivers can recall the image any time by pressing a button on the steering wheel. Traffic Sign Detection can be activated via a sub-page in the car’s onboard computer menu.

The Opel Eye gives more accurate information than portable navigation systems with stored speed limits because the camera works in real time. If a speed limit changes, due to road construction for instance, the Opel Eye detects it.

The processors are able to recognize traffic signs because most are designed uniformly in line with the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals. Established in 1968, this agreement standardizes road signs throughout more than 80 countries (for more information see Spotlight chapter).

“As we were working with the Opel Eye, we enhanced the systems’ capabilities to impressive levels. On German highways, for example, lanes sometimes have different speed limits. The Opel Eye is able to correctly register the relevant one every time,” says
Dr. Christoph Schmidt, Engineering Group Manager of GME Electronics.

Lane Departure Warning: Alarm indicates unintentional lane change

The Opel Eye camera also checks whether drivers stay in their chosen lane on the highway. This helps prevent a dangerous situation, such as a driver falling asleep at the wheel. Lane Departure Warning can be switched on or off via a button. When active, it warns the driver with a gong sound and a blinking signal on the instrument panel.

Lane Departure Warning uses a second signal processor and software to filter lines and longitudinal patterns at speeds above 50 km/h. This enables the system to recognize the traffic lane. By using specific algorithms that define the conditions in which alerts are given and by noticing steering wheel and turn-indicator movements – signaling an intentional lane change – the system is designed only to intervene at the appropriate moment.

“A car that can see and warn the driver well in advance of potential hazards is another important step in our long-term accident prevention strategy,” Demant says, adding that
GM Europe also is working on vehicle-to-vehicle communication, where cars can exchange information like position and speed. (see V2V)

Drivers can be warned in advance if another car is traveling in a blind spot, stopped in an area that is difficult or impossible to see, or about to enter the same intersection. A pilot project is currently underway in the German state of Hessen in collaboration with the state government.

The Opel Eye, featuring the Traffic Sign Detection and Lane Departure Warning will be available as an option in the new Opel Insignia. Other models will offer the systems in the future, in line with Opel’s philosophy of democratizing technology.

In 2003, Opel was the first automaker to introduce the innovative Adaptive Forward Lighting system with dynamic curve lighting and 90-degree cornering light to the mid-size car class. That same year, Opel made electronic Continuous Damping Control available to Astra drivers. Prior to that, this feature usually was found only in luxury class and exclusive sports cars.

Before the eyes of 3000 invited guests, the rocket age began May 23, 1928 at Berlin’s AVUS race track.

That was the day, with a long plume of fire and smoke burning behind his shiny black cigar-shaped race car outfitted with two massive wings to keep the machine grounded, Fritz von Opel set a speed record for rocket-propelled cars, hitting an estimated 238 km/h in his RAK 2.

Von Opel, grandson of Opel Motor Car Company founder Adam Opel, and his partners Friedrich Sander and Max Valier used 24 solid-fuel rockets packed with 120 kilograms of explosives to propel the RAK 2 forward. Each time von Opel pressed on the gas pedal he ignited two rockets increasing power until he reached full strength and his world record.

“I stopped thinking. I was acting on instinct alone, with uncontrollable forces raging behind me,” von Opel gushed when he stepped from the car.

The adrenalin still flowing, von Opel immediately announced his ultimate goal: He wanted to fly in a rocket-powered airplane. “Dream with us of the day in which the first space ship can fly around our earth faster than the sun,” von Opel urged the crowd.

A bit more than a year later, September 30, 1929, von Opel had a small taste of that dream when he became the first man to fly in a rocket-propelled plane.

“The Advance into Space”

The dream started when Max Valier, a South Tyrolean astronomer, test pilot and author of “The Advance into Space” approached von Opel in 1927 seeking support for Valier’s rocket engine research. Von Opel, himself a race car driver and pilot, recognized the potential of rocket technology as well as its advertising value for his family’s company. From then on, Opel’s factory in the German town of Rüsselsheim began researching innovative modes of propulsion, measuring the thrust of various rocket types on a specially-constructed test bench. Engineer and rocket-maker Sander, based near Bremerhaven, delivered state-of-the-art solid-fuel rockets to them. Sander already had made his reputation manufacturing rockets for maritime rescue operations; his missiles were used to propel ropes to ships in distress.

By the spring of 1928, the company announced the public debut of a rocket-powered car, called RAK 1. The event took place April 11 on the company’s own track in Rüsselsheim, the first permanent race and test track in Germany. In just eight seconds, the RAK 1 reached a speed of 100 km/h, before coasting to a stop. The test drive was hailed as a new technological triumph; newspaper reports were full of enthusiasm for the future. Fantasies of reliable flights to America and the development of spacecraft began to look like a possibility.

“Sitting on 120 kilos of explosives – enough to blow up a whole neighborhood”

Because the Opel company racetrack was not engineered for speeds over 140 km/h, Fritz von Opel selected the high-speed AVUS track in Berlin for his record-setting test drive of a technologically and aerodynamically-redesigned RAK 2.

The AVUS track provided a high-profile venue to present Opel’s innovative propulsion system to the public. The 3000 guests from show business, sports, science and politics gathered on the northern grandstand in anticipation of the test. Movie star Lilian Harvey and boxing idol Max Schmeling were among the celebrities in the audience.

The rocket vehicle was still concealed from view by a canvas tarpaulin, when Johann Schütte, President of the Scientific Society for Flight, addressed the audience, honoring the work of Valier.

The RAK 2 was unveiled and rolled to the starting line, where the rockets were installed and connected to the ignition cables. The audience looked at the rocket car in awe: A slender, black body mounted on a chassis borrowed from the Opel 10/40 PS. It was fitted with two oversized wings to compensate for the calculated lift and prevent unintentional flight. With the power of 24 rockets, ignited by a specially developed, pedal-activated electrical system and generating 6000 kilograms in thrust, the RAK 2 was designed to reach a speed beyond the 200 km/h mark, but no one knew exactly how fast it could go.

The 29-year-old von Opel, wearing an aviator’s jacket and goggles, sat behind the steering with “unsettling thoughts shooting through” him, as he later recalled, “sitting on 120 kilos of explosives – enough to blow up a whole neighborhood.”

“Uncontrollable forces raging behind me”

Finally, only the legendary Opel race car driver Carl Jörns, Valier and the rocket-maker Sander remained at the pilot’s side. Von Opel remarked later: “Sander shakes my hand. Why so formal?”

It soon became clear to him.

“I step on the ignition pedal and the rockets roar behind me, throwing me forward. It’s liberating. I step on the pedal again, then again and – it grips me like a rage – a fourth time. To my sides, everything disappears. All I see now is the track stretched out before me like a big ribbon. I step down four more times, quickly – now I’m traveling on eight rockets. The acceleration gives me a rush. I stop thinking. I’m acting on instinct alone, with uncontrollable forces raging behind me.”

The tremendous speed caused the front end of the rocket car to leave the ground toward the end of the test: The wings were not angled for sufficient negative lift. Only the quick reactions of the seasoned pilot kept the RAK 2 on course, averting a catastrophe.

In less than three minutes, the spectacle was over. Von Opel and his rocket car became an overnight sensation as the news shot around the world: The top speed during the record-setting test run is 238 km/h.

Silver-screen darling Lilian Harvey confided to a reporter: “I’d like to ride in the rocket car with Fritz von Opel.” The magazine “Das Motorrad” (The Motorcycle) wrote: “No one could escape the impression that we had entered a new era. The Opel car with a rocket engine could be the first practical step toward the conquest of space.” American silent film star Jackie Coogan later was photographed sitting in a prototype of a RAK.

“Rocket Fritz” had become a hero, yet there were new challenges ahead. A month later, in June, 1928 the team set a new world record for speed on rails in an unmanned test of RAK 3 on a specially closed stretch of track near Celle-Burgwedel.

A few weeks later, in attempt to break that record, the RAK 4 was destroyed in a massive explosion. This was followed by further tests with a rocket-powered motorcycle, but these were stopped by the authorities as too dangerous.

Key to success was finding a plane that could withstand the powerful thrust

The team was under time pressure. Other men across the world had the same dream of space flight. American Robert Goddard had successfully launched a liquid-fueled rocket in his Aunt Effie’s farm in Massachusetts in 1926, two years earlier.

Von Opel and Sander had a problem finding a plane sturdy and safe enough to withstand a rocket launch. They unsuccessfully tried to build their own and were disappointed by a few other models made nearby. Eventually they partnered with a man named Julius Hatry.

“From 1927 to 1929, I had been working on models for rocket-fuelled airplanes. I had flown models successfully and had decided to build a manned craft,” Julius Hatry said in an interview in 2000. Initially he turned down von Opel’s offer to team up. When he discovered that the car magnate was then in negotiations to purchase one of his airplanes for modification, Hatry relented.

On Sept. 10, 1929 in a hunting field just outside Rüsselsheim, von Opel, Hatry and Sander made their first tests, with only a handful of selected onlookers, including a photographer from The New York Times. The aviators packed one of Hatry’s specially-built planes with 100 cylinder rockets in the rear; each cylinder packed with 90 kilograms of explosives.

It was a massive failure. The plane remained on the ground and burned up. The problem, they felt, was in the initial launching.

On a second attempt that day, the group used a standard rubber-band launcher. Once in the air – only perhaps a meter or two off the ground — von Opel launched his rockets and flew 1,400 meters.

The New York Times published the photo in its October 6 Sunday edition. But to true aviators at the time, without the crucial unassisted rocket launch, they had not yet succeeded in flying a “jet.”

After a few adjustments, they secretly tried again on Sept. 17, 1929 with Hatry in the cockpit. It worked. Hatry flew roughly 500 meters about 25 meters above ground with the help of two catapult rockets that together created 700 kilograms of thrust. It was enough for von Opel, the media hound, to organize another publicity event.

On Sept. 30, 1929, at Frankfurt’s Rebstock airport in front of a large crowd, with French filmmakers at the ready, the team packed 16 rockets into the tail of Hatry’s plane. Manually, they lit the catapult rockets one by one, but the rockets ignited too late to provide the lift von Opel needed to get off the ground. The launch rockets failed to ignite correctly a second time as well.

Sander had not reckoned on a third attempt. He had only 11 rockets left, each with a burning time of about 24 seconds and 24 kilograms of thrust. He was wary of trying a third time, but von Opel insisted.

With Sander and Hatry finally in agreement, von Opel climbed aboard again. That time the start worked, the plane launched only on rocket-power flew at an estimated 150 kilometers per hour about 25 meters above ground for 80 seconds.

The Rocket Age had begun.

“He Hopes to See Business Men Crossing Atlantic in Rocket Airplane.”

Six rockets failed to ignite and he fuel ran out quickly, forcing von Opel to make an emergency landing. No one was injured, the plane was destroyed, but it didn’t matter to von Opel and his team.

“My first rocket flight! You want to hear something about my impressions and emotions ten minutes after my fight, when I myself can scarcely grasp my joy,” he wrote in an article for The New York Times, cabled to the U.S.

“It is magical, flying like that, powered by nothing more than the combustion gases streaming out of the engines at 800 kilometers an hour. When will we be able to harness the full power of these gases? When will we be able to fly around the world in five hours? I know this time will come and I have a vision of future world travel which will bring together all the people of the earth to live as one.

So I race towards this vision like a dream with no sense of space and time. A machine flying almost by itself. I hardly need to touch the controls. I feel only the borderless intoxicating joy of this first flight.”

Immediately, the trio made plans for their next plane, their next flight.

One month later, however, stock markets around the world crashed, sending Germany – and the world – into a tailspin.

Von Opel’s dream, though, was not over. A New York Times article dated December 24, 1929, states that the head of the Opel Motor Car Company told reporters on arriving in the U.S. “He Hopes to See Business Men Crossing Atlantic in Rocket Airplane.”

General Motors Europe will invest a total of €9 billion into Opel through 2012, thus strengthening its core brand. €6.5 billion alone will be spent on the development of new vehicles and propulsion systems. In addition, the company is investing considerably into its German plants, Rüsselsheim, Bochum, Kaiserslautern and Eisenach. This was announced by GM Europe President Carl-Peter Forster at a press conference in Rüsselsheim today. Forster also referred to the contracts for the future agreed on yesterday evening with the European employee representatives. These contracts guarantee the European Astra plants production capacity and capacity utilization.

GM Europe will invest €900 million into its new Rüsselsheim plant, which was put into operation in 2002. As of autumn 2008, Rüsselsheim will build a new generation of upper midsize vehicles, starting with the Opel Insignia. Bochum is granted investments worth €650 million to secure the facility’s long-term competitiveness and getting it ready for production of the next-generation Astra. “Opel Bochum has already made a big step forward and is an excellent example of how a long-established plant can regain its competitiveness by means of systematic restructuring and the great commitment of its workforce,” Forster said. Eisenach is granted investments of €240 million. Furthermore, the Kaiserslautern facility will not be sold as previously planned but will be expanded into a center of competence for component manufacturing with an investment of €50 million.

20 new models through 2012, extended-range electric vehicle
Hans H. Demant, Managing Director of Adam Opel GmbH, announced a comprehensive product offensive with 17 new passenger cars and 3 light commercial vehicles through 2012. In addition to the Insignia this autumn and the new Astra, it has also been decided that the next-generation Meriva with its rear-hinged doors (FlexDoor system) will go into production.

As with Insignia, the FlexRide mechatronic chassis system of which helps the car adjust to prevailing driving conditions, Opel is focusing on technical innovation in all vehicle segments, for example with Adaptive Forward Lighting (AFL), new chassis functions for great safety in critical situations and with vehicle concepts that offer a high level of flexibility for different uses. For instance, Opel was the first manufacturer to offer the automatically adjusting lighting system also in smaller vehicle segments, such as Corsa and Meriva. “Opel is making the most state-of-the-art safety technology available to the majority of the market. This is an effective contribution to road safety,” Demant said.

In close cooperation with the GM Development Center in Warren, Michigan, U.S.A., the Rüsselsheim engineering teams are working on getting extended-range electric vehicles based on the E-Flex system ready for series production. This system allows a driver to travel 65 kilometers on electric power alone, enough to cover the average distance covered by daily commuters. For longer distances, a combustion engine, that serves merely as a power generator, recharges the electric power unit to achieve the range of usual midsize passenger cars.

Growth strategy for German market
Thomas Owsianski, Executive Director, Sales, Marketing & Aftersales, presented the growth strategy for the German market with which Opel wants to increase its sales volume and market share: In the medium term, Opel in Germany is striving to regain new-car registrations of 400,000 units and a market share of over 10 percent, Owsianski said. Opel new-car buyers in Germany will be granted a six-year warranty at no additional costs.

Under a program called “INNOVATION”, Opel currently offers vehicles in which innovative features such as adaptive forward lighting and dynamic navigation are combined in favorably priced packages. According to Owsianski, innovation will also be at the center of the communication campaign for the launch of the new Opel Insignia, “a car with sophisticated technology and groundbreaking design” that will compete in the upper midsize segment starting this autumn.

Substantial investments into dealer network
In Frankfurt, Cologne, Berlin and Wiesbaden, Opel will work together with partner companies to expand dealerships into prestigious brand centers. Opel will spend over €100 million on over 2,000 projects together with the Opel dealers in order to speed up the modernization of the dealerships and achieve a consistent state-of-the-art appearance. In addition to the modernization of showrooms and dealerships, Opel continues to modernize the infrastructure of its dealers and service organizations.