"Speedmonkey" (Speedmonkey)
11/14/2013 at 10:21 • Filed to: Vauxhall Adam
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"Speedmonkey" (Speedmonkey)
11/14/2013 at 10:21 • Filed to: Vauxhall Adam | 1
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I don't think America will ever get the Vauxhall Adam. GM don't have the foresight of Ford.
Which is a pity because some of its European product is good. I tested the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! a while back and have just spent a week with an Adam, which is named after the company founder Adam Opel.
It's a small premium hatchback which costs almost as much as an Audi A1 so Vauxhall is aiming high. And they almost pull it off. The Adam is a good car but the brand lacks the cachet of other premium supermini manufacturers, which could be the Adam's downfall.
I liked the Adam which felt to me like a 1st gen Ford Ka to drive. It even has a real handbrake for handbrake turns!
For Sweden
> Speedmonkey
11/14/2013 at 10:34 |
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If GM has learned anything from the hugely-successful Buick Encore, they'll send the Adam across the pond.
Jayhawk Jake
> Speedmonkey
11/14/2013 at 11:21 |
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I don't know where it would fit in GM's American offerings.
Maybe as a Buick? It's a 3 door hatch back for more money than a fully loaded Sonic. I guess I don't understand the point of the car, at least in America. We don't need city cars. I suppose the Fiat 500 has been doing alright and this is similar.
Of course, I'm no expert. It seems like a fantastic car, but I guess I don't see the use in the American market. I would like to see them apply some of the techniques here to a car like the Sonic such as the stylized overhead and nicer dash materials.
AMC/Renauledge
> Speedmonkey
11/14/2013 at 11:28 |
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I'm sorry, did Ford launch a 3-door premium Mini-fighting hatch in America while I wasn't looking?
The ADAM should be a Buick. Plain and simple. Trouble is, I think the folks at GM don't know what the hell to do with Buick, why it's working, and how to make it continue working.
They're probably scared to death of a Saturn Astra redux, as well.
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Speedmonkey
> AMC/Renauledge
11/14/2013 at 11:43 |
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I was thinking Fiesta. Do you not get it yet?
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Speedmonkey
> Jayhawk Jake
11/14/2013 at 11:43 |
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You're right about the Fiat. It's a direct 500, Mini, Citroen DS3 rival
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AMC/Renauledge
> Speedmonkey
11/14/2013 at 11:52 |
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We do. But only in 5-door and (hideous) sedan bodies. We don't get the 3-door.
And GM has a competitor to the Fiesta. It's called the Chevy Sonic.
And the ADAM is more a Mini/500 fighter than a Fiesta competitor anyway.
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Jayhawk Jake
> Speedmonkey
11/14/2013 at 12:03 |
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I figured, which is why I'm not sure how it slots in to GMs lineup here. I don't think the market is big enough for GM to have a smaller 3 door hatch than the Sonic, just like I don't think the market is big enough for Ford to bring the Fiesta 3 door hatch over.
I could see this as a Buick badged Fiat 500 rival, but I don't know that it would sell very well.