Opel Adam....

[2o6]

The problem I have with it (aside from the awkwardly resolved front fascia)


Is this:






Coupled with a stumpy wheelbase, the car looks like it will be cramped.

[Raza]

Oh yeah, like that horrendous Chevy thingy.

This little Opel is cool.

I want a whole car made out of headlights.  I want the headlights to extend through the front door and meet the taillights, which extend through the back door.  I want it to be 120" long and 150" tall!

[Galaxy]

 

Yeah, I'm just happy it doesn't have headlights that stretch to the A-pillar.

Yeah credit has to be given to Opel for that. Adam should succeed for that alone.

[Galaxy]

The problem I have with it (aside from the awkwardly resolved front fascia)


Is this:

They also stole Audi's font.

[SVT666]

I love how 2o6 posts some shitty, ugly ass Chinese car and calls it "cute" and then everyone comes on here and calls it what it is...ugly and shitty.  Then he posts an actually good looking car and says "No thx", and everyone comes on here and calls it what it is..."cute and cool".  

[Colin]

I don't get how people don't like this.  It's such a handsome little care that doesn't fall into the "little car, big styling" trap that most small cars do, and it's not so willfully rehashed and pointless like the 500 is (thought I do like the 500). 

Well there are an awful lot of Europeans who are not convinced.

I think it looks pretty dreadful and those ridiculous trim names of Jam, Glam and Spam (sorry, Slam) are just stupid beyond belief.

Opel want to sell this a premium priced product to compete against MINI. It will be fascinating to see how successful they are. 

[93JC]

I think this is lame. It's as cynical an exercise in trying to emulate 'retro' cars as the Chevy HHR was to the Chrysler PT Cruiser.

Whatever floats your boat, I guess, but I think it's too obvious a Fiat 500/Mini knockoff.

[Galaxy]

I thought the Adam name came from the former Adam Opel AG?  If not, I guess it's ok that they call the Vauxhall version that too

As MX793 wrote it is still called the Adam Opel Ag today. In fact that is one thing where the comic is nifty.



The bottom part.

"Does the name refer to anyone particular?"

"No absolutely not. We like the name because it is so universal."

"We googeled it the name can be found everywhere. I am still waiting for a connection to cars. "


Maybe I am giving the marketing people to much credit, but I think that is a joke about how Adam Opel never saw his company making cars. Only sewing machines and bicycles. In fact Adam Opel is quoted as saying that "these stinking boxes will never be more then toys for millionaires."

[Payman]

Chrissakes guys, with this segment, you're pretty limited in terms of what you can do with design. Opel managed to make a stylish little car that looks much better than any of its competitors. So the basic shape is similar to the 500... so what. At least they went with the best part of the segment, instead of making something that looks like the Imperial Stormtrooper Helmet iQ, or the 3-foot long headlight Chevy.

[Madman]

I like it.  I don't suppose there's any chance of this being offered here as a mini-Buick?  I think this is just the sort of car Buick needs to prove to skeptical consumers that Buick isn't an old man's brand anymore.  GM could well use an American-branded alternative to the MINI and 500.


Even so, I love Sniff Petrol's take on the ADAM:

http://sniffpetrol.com/2012/07/11/vauxadamrevealed/

[Raza]

I like it.  I don't suppose there's any chance of this being offered here as a mini-Buick?  I think this is just the sort of car Buick needs to prove to skeptical consumers that Buick isn't an old man's brand anymore.  GM could well use an American-branded alternative to the MINI and 500.


Even so, I love Sniff Petrol's take on the ADAM:

http://sniffpetrol.com/2012/07/11/vauxadamrevealed/

It should come over as a Chevy.

[Madman]

It should come over as a Chevy.

It's too upscale looking to be a Chevy.  Besides, between the Sonic and the soon-to-be-available Spark, Chevy already has the small car segment covered.  With a Buick badge, GM can command a premium price more in line with MINI.

[Raza]

It's too upscale looking to be a Chevy.  Besides, between the Sonic and the soon-to-be-available Spark, Chevy already has the small car segment covered.  With a Buick badge, GM can command a premium price more in line with MINI.

Nah, a Buick badge is the nail in the coffin for it.  No one will buy this with a Buick badge because Buicks are for old people.  Can't sell an old person's car to a young person. 

Cadillac, maybe.  Saturn would have been ideal. 

[Madman]

Nah, a Buick badge is the nail in the coffin for it.  No one will buy this with a Buick badge because Buicks are for old people.

Which is EXACTLY why Buick needs this car.  It will challenge all the preconceived stereotypes and make people re-think what a Buick is.  The Insignia and Verano aren't enough.  They're still traditional four-door sedans.  The ADAM is unashamedly and unapologetically youthful, which is what makes it an ideal game-changer for Buick.  The time for being timid is over.  Buick needs to shock the public into reevaluating the brand.  And this is just the car that could do it.

[TurboDan]

All the cars in this class are beginning to blend together. The "city car" is the new crossover...

[TurboDan]

Which is EXACTLY why Buick needs this car.  It will challenge all the preconceived stereotypes and make people re-think what a Buick is.  The Insignia and Verano aren't enough.  They're still traditional four-door sedans.  The ADAM is unashamedly and unapologetically youthful, which is what makes it an ideal game-changer for Buick.  The time for being timid is over.  Buick needs to shock the public into reevaluating the brand.  And this is just the car that could do it.

I disagree. And I'm not sure if Raza was being facetious but.... IMO Buick is done in America. If the Chinese didn't have a collective Buick fetish the division would've been out the door with Pontiac and Saturn.

[2o6]

I love how 2o6 posts some shitty, ugly ass Chinese car and calls it "cute" and then everyone comes on here and calls it what it is...ugly and shitty.  Then he posts an actually good looking car and says "No thx", and everyone comes on here and calls it what it is..."cute and cool".  

Not everyone likes it.

[SVT666]

Not everyone likes it.

When I say "everyone", I mean "everyone that matters".

[2o6]

When I say "everyone", I mean "everyone that matters".

I don't think it looks good. iQ, Up!, Spark and most others with a monobox shape have pretty roomy interiors (for what they are) This looks cramped and overpriced and the relation to both the Citroen DS3 and Fiat 500 are obvious. Adam's two box shape and really odd proportions just looks strange.

[hotrodalex]

I don't see how it looks cramped, at least not any more than the other cars in its class. The proportions look fine. The front overhang might be a bit large, but that's normal on a FWD car.

It's a good unique design. (Shape may be similar to others in its class, but that's always the case. The details are unique.)

[Madman]

I disagree. And I'm not sure if Raza was being facetious but.... IMO Buick is done in America. If the Chinese didn't have a collective Buick fetish the division would've been out the door with Pontiac and Saturn.

Sure, GM could have given Buick the chop (along with Saturn, Pontiac and Hummer) and made it a China-only brand and nobody would have cared.  But GM made the decision to keep Buick.  So if they're going to keep it, then why not make it competitive and try to grow the brand?  After all, GM didn't spare Buick just to keep it on life support, did they?

Starving a brand of product is a guaranteed formula for failure.

[CJ]

Buick is in no way on life support.  Have you seen the new Lacrosse?  The interior is pretty damn good, it's quick, and the ride is extremely good, but not floaty.  And the Regal?  Excellent car.  The Enclave is also very good. 

[2o6]

Sure, GM could have given Buick the chop (along with Saturn, Pontiac and Hummer) and made it a China-only brand and nobody would have cared.  But GM made the decision to keep Buick.  So if they're going to keep it, then why not make it competitive and try to grow the brand?  After all, GM didn't spare Buick just to keep it on life support, did they?

Starving a brand of product is a guaranteed formula for failure.

IIRC, Buick's sales were more than Oldsmobile, Saturn, Hummer and Pontiac combined.

[Payman]

Buick is doing fine, and this would be a great addition to the lineup as an upscale mini to compete with the 500 and Mini Cooper.

[2o6]

Buick is doing fine, and this would be a great addition to the lineup as an upscale mini to compete with the 500 and Mini Cooper.

I don't care for the styling, but I agree. With the new Encore and Verano, Buick seems to be moving towards small premium entries.

[LonghornTX]

Chrissakes guys, with this segment, you're pretty limited in terms of what you can do with design. Opel managed to make a stylish little car that looks much better than any of its competitors. So the basic shape is similar to the 500... so what. At least they went with the best part of the segment, instead of making something that looks like the Imperial Stormtrooper Helmet iQ, or the 3-foot long headlight Chevy.

Agreed. I think this car looks pretty good. Definitely love it or hate it

[Raza]

Which is EXACTLY why Buick needs this car.  It will challenge all the preconceived stereotypes and make people re-think what a Buick is.  The Insignia and Verano aren't enough.  They're still traditional four-door sedans.  The ADAM is unashamedly and unapologetically youthful, which is what makes it an ideal game-changer for Buick.  The time for being timid is over.  Buick needs to shock the public into reevaluating the brand.  And this is just the car that could do it.

All it will do is fail--it won't challenge preconceived notions.  Preconceived notions are why we have Lexus, Infiniti, and Acura, and not $80,000 Toyota badged cars.  Preconceived notions are why we have Mini instead of a small FWD BMW. 

The general consensus will be "That's a cool car...but I'm not going to buy a Buick, that's my grandpa's car.  Off to the Fiat studio".  Fiat is so effortfully cool that they don't even call their dealerships dealerships.  They call them studios. 

[Raza]

I don't think it looks good. iQ, Up!, Spark and most others with a monobox shape have pretty roomy interiors (for what they are) This looks cramped and overpriced and the relation to both the Citroen DS3 and Fiat 500 are obvious. Adam's two box shape and really odd proportions just looks strange.

The proportions don't look strange.

And how can a car "look" overpriced?

[2o6]

The proportions don't look strange.

And how can a car "look" overpriced?

I need to eat more. I honestly don't remember what I was trying to say.

[Raza]

I disagree. And I'm not sure if Raza was being facetious but.... IMO Buick is done in America. If the Chinese didn't have a collective Buick fetish the division would've been out the door with Pontiac and Saturn.

People always think I'm being facetious.  I wasn't this time.

But Buick will survive because it has a steady flow of old, middle aged, and, if what I'm seeing rings true of a trend, black people who will buy their cars.  They make good cars and they're nice.  My friend is considering selling his Mazda2 and getting a Verano.  But this car as a Buick is too much, too fast, and it'll suffer the same fate as the Saturn Astra.