Opel Vectra in GM Lab

deepakchiniwal · 13th August 2009, 15:16

Hello,

Yesterday evening, happened to spot a Black Opel Vectra moving in GM Lab (ITPL) in bangalore. Does this mean that GM is trying to understand Vectra's features and integrating into Cruze. Just speculating, can it be true. I have a Picture taken from Mobile. Will post it the moment I upload it to system (By EOD today).

amtak · 13th August 2009, 15:20

Isn't Vectra dead long ago? Its an Old design and Cruze much modern, much sophisticated.

In Vectra's favour, all I would say was that its pricing was wrong though it was loaded to the core.

MileCruncher · 13th August 2009, 17:45

Vectra technically is no more a GM brand it has been sold to Magna which now owns Vauxhall and Opel. Also Vectra has been discountinued in Europe, its main market and been replaced by the Insignia - an awesome looking car.

Alter_Ego · 13th August 2009, 17:55

Vectra was the best as far as looks and features were concerned.The only iceberg which sank it was its pricing and high cost of spares.I was looking for a used one before I settled for my safari

ajmat · 13th August 2009, 17:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

Vectra technically is no more a GM brand it has been sold to Magna which now owns Vauxhall and Opel. Also Vectra has been discountinued in Europe, its main market and been replaced by the Insignia - an awesome looking car.

Sold to Magna? Last I heard , bids were still being evaluated

MileCruncher · 13th August 2009, 18:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajmat

Sold to Magna? Last I heard , bids were still being evaluated

I had read it in ET that Magna was chosen amongst the three bidders BBC NEWS | Business | GM receives three bids for Opel but again I might be wrong

shortbread · 13th August 2009, 20:37

The sale of Opel/Vauxhall is still undergoing. GM prefers to sell to RHJI a Belgian investment firm and still stay linked to Opel/Vauxhall. This is very important for GM, otherwise loosing Opel/Vauxhall means having next to zilch presence in Europe, the only left over remains would be the negligible Chevrolet sales.
The German Govt. instead wants to sell Opel/Vauxhall to Magna since that bid is backed by Russian interests, with whom the German Govt. has close relations. But it also means that Opel/Vauxhall being a seperate entity not related to the American parent, something GM wont agree to.
Coming back to the point about the Vectra. Gm launched the Vectra with the notoriously unreliable 2.2 engine, this engine has regular problems with its fuel pumps. That said the build quality of the car was very impressive.
The Cruze does not compete with the Vectra, instead it falls in the same segment as the Astra/Civic/Corolla, Its actually based on an Astra platform. Against the likes of the Accord/Vectra(now Insignia) Chevrolet has the Epica.
Now heres the funny part, the cheapest Civic in the UK (1.4, hatchback) starts at £14,950, a far more loaded 2.0 ltr. Epica (Accord sized sedan) is actually cheaper at £14,260

.
It doesnt end there, the base Cruze (1.6 Sedan) starts from £9.995, which makes it more than 30% cheaper than the Civic.
So by theory, if the Civic starts at approx. 11 lacs in India, the Cruze should be around 8 lacs

. Lets see what GMI does.

deepakchiniwal · 14th August 2009, 12:51

here is the picture i was speaking about. Pardon me for the bad photo quality.

NIP · 14th August 2009, 13:07

What a car the Vectra was ! Way ahead of its time and the pricing too

Pani · 14th August 2009, 13:54

For looks, the Vectra Kills any sub 20 Lakh car even today...

avishar · 14th August 2009, 14:18

Well coudnt it be just an employees car?

deepakchiniwal · 14th August 2009, 14:35

ITPL, Bangalore has separate parkings for employee vehicles. The place this car was, could be transported using a lorry alone. There is no Ramp for the car to climb where this was. You will have to climb minimum of 10 steps to reach that levels, hope that gives a sense of height which i am speaking off....

konjaril · 8th March 2010, 12:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by deepakchiniwal

Hello,

Yesterday evening, happened to spot a Black Opel Vectra moving in GM Lab (ITPL) in bangalore. Does this mean that GM is trying to understand Vectra's features and integrating into Cruze. Just speculating, can it be true. I have a Picture taken from Mobile. Will post it the moment I upload it to system (By EOD today).

Indeed right ,there are some rumors (confirmed by some insiders in gm) on the petrol cruze version are going to share the same block as the vectra although it might be tuned down and wont be a 2.2.

P.S i fail to understand why people are saying it has an unreliable engine. i have had the car for a long time. its my daily car and it still surprises me of how reliable she is. i haven't spent any big bucks on her and as they say you cant compare the service price of a 17 lakh car to a 5 lakh car

suprateep · 8th March 2010, 12:33

back in 2006 I was getting a 2nd hand Vactra (6000kms odd) for 5.5 lakhs. Teh owner had some 19 cars (including Mercs, Beamers and Mustang too and was selling it off since he did not use it much. the car was loaded and was a decent drive too. Cost of spares put me off.

Wish I had the guts to buy that then. BTW a lot of petrol engines are being studied so that the same can be incorporated with Cruze. The Vectra motor is not one of them.

konjaril · 8th March 2010, 13:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by suprateep

back in 2006 I was getting a 2nd hand Vactra (6000kms odd) for 5.5 lakhs. Teh owner had some 19 cars (including Mercs, Beamers and Mustang too and was selling it off since he did not use it much. the car was loaded and was a decent drive too. Cost of spares put me off.

Wish I had the guts to buy that then. BTW a lot of petrol engines are being studied so that the same can be incorporated with Cruze. The Vectra motor is not one of them.

well buddy i wouldn't mind if u still have the guys number with the beemers and the stang.

As for the vectra block, its an inside news from a pretty reliable source.He is one of the guys working on the block infact if i am not wrong. surprised me too.

13th August 2009, 15:16	#1
deepakchiniwal BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Melbourne Posts: 353 Thanked: 28 Times	Opel Vectra in GM Lab Hello, Yesterday evening, happened to spot a Black Opel Vectra moving in GM Lab (ITPL) in bangalore. Does this mean that GM is trying to understand Vectra's features and integrating into Cruze. Just speculating, can it be true. I have a Picture taken from Mobile. Will post it the moment I upload it to system (By EOD today).
	() Thanks

13th August 2009, 15:20	#2
amtak Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai - The city of Sea Link!!! Posts: 2,986 Thanked: 1,111 Times	Isn't Vectra dead long ago? Its an Old design and Cruze much modern, much sophisticated. In Vectra's favour, all I would say was that its pricing was wrong though it was loaded to the core.
	() Thanks

13th August 2009, 17:45	#3
MileCruncher Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: MH01 Posts: 4,513 Thanked: 1,373 Times View My Garage	Vectra technically is no more a GM brand it has been sold to Magna which now owns Vauxhall and Opel. Also Vectra has been discountinued in Europe, its main market and been replaced by the Insignia - an awesome looking car.
	() Thanks

13th August 2009, 17:55	#4
Alter_Ego BHPian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Melbourne Posts: 444 Thanked: 114 Times View My Garage	Vectra was the best as far as looks and features were concerned.The only iceberg which sank it was its pricing and high cost of spares.I was looking for a used one before I settled for my safari
	() Thanks

13th August 2009, 20:37	#7
shortbread BANNED Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: KL 7 Posts: 2,658 Thanked: 7,593 Times	The sale of Opel/Vauxhall is still undergoing. GM prefers to sell to RHJI a Belgian investment firm and still stay linked to Opel/Vauxhall. This is very important for GM, otherwise loosing Opel/Vauxhall means having next to zilch presence in Europe, the only left over remains would be the negligible Chevrolet sales. The German Govt. instead wants to sell Opel/Vauxhall to Magna since that bid is backed by Russian interests, with whom the German Govt. has close relations. But it also means that Opel/Vauxhall being a seperate entity not related to the American parent, something GM wont agree to. Coming back to the point about the Vectra. Gm launched the Vectra with the notoriously unreliable 2.2 engine, this engine has regular problems with its fuel pumps. That said the build quality of the car was very impressive. The Cruze does not compete with the Vectra, instead it falls in the same segment as the Astra/Civic/Corolla, Its actually based on an Astra platform. Against the likes of the Accord/Vectra(now Insignia) Chevrolet has the Epica. Now heres the funny part, the cheapest Civic in the UK (1.4, hatchback) starts at £14,950, a far more loaded 2.0 ltr. Epica (Accord sized sedan) is actually cheaper at £14,260 . It doesnt end there, the base Cruze (1.6 Sedan) starts from £9.995, which makes it more than 30% cheaper than the Civic. So by theory, if the Civic starts at approx. 11 lacs in India, the Cruze should be around 8 lacs . Lets see what GMI does.
	() Thanks

14th August 2009, 12:51	#8
deepakchiniwal BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Melbourne Posts: 353 Thanked: 28 Times	here is the picture i was speaking about. Pardon me for the bad photo quality. Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

14th August 2009, 13:07	#9
NIP Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,179 Thanked: 152 Times View My Garage	What a car the Vectra was ! Way ahead of its time and the pricing too
	() Thanks

14th August 2009, 13:54	#10
Pani BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: BANGALORE Posts: 135 Thanked: 16 Times	For looks, the Vectra Kills any sub 20 Lakh car even today...
	() Thanks

14th August 2009, 14:18	#11
avishar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: kolkata/bangalore,india Posts: 2,907 Thanked: 4,237 Times	Well coudnt it be just an employees car?
	() Thanks

14th August 2009, 14:35	#12
deepakchiniwal BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Melbourne Posts: 353 Thanked: 28 Times	ITPL, Bangalore has separate parkings for employee vehicles. The place this car was, could be transported using a lorry alone. There is no Ramp for the car to climb where this was. You will have to climb minimum of 10 steps to reach that levels, hope that gives a sense of height which i am speaking off....
	() Thanks

8th March 2010, 12:33	#14
suprateep BHPian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Calcutta, Pune Posts: 98 Thanked: 0 Times	back in 2006 I was getting a 2nd hand Vactra (6000kms odd) for 5.5 lakhs. Teh owner had some 19 cars (including Mercs, Beamers and Mustang too and was selling it off since he did not use it much. the car was loaded and was a decent drive too. Cost of spares put me off. Wish I had the guts to buy that then. BTW a lot of petrol engines are being studied so that the same can be incorporated with Cruze. The Vectra motor is not one of them.
	() Thanks