2006 British International Motor Show

[HarleyEarl]

2006 British International Motor Show

London show wows with world debuts

By JULIAN RENDELL

AutoWeek | Published 07/25/06, 1:01 pm et

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Saturn desperately needs a good small car, but it won’t be based on the European-built Corsa hatchback from General Motors’ Vauxhall subsidiary.

That was the word from the recent British International Motor Show in London, where the global launch of the all-new Corsa was backed by a high-powered visit from GM headquarters by CEO Rick Wagoner and vice chairman Bob Lutz.

GM product czar Lutz said the new Corsa wasn’t engineered with the United States market in mind, so it won’t pass crash tests: “It would take two years and be too expensive, so we’ll wait until the next generation,” says Lutz.

That’s the car being engineered in Korea by a joint Daewoo/Opel team; it won’t be in the market for five years “at the earliest,” Lutz says.

Lutz also took pains to point out that GM already has a top seller in the U.S. small-car market with the Korean-built Chevrolet Aveo. “Other carmakers, like Toyota, have been forced to follow us, but they get the credit,” he chided.

Wagoner faced the press with questions about the Renault-Nissan alliance, just days after his dinner meeting with Carlos Ghosn: “If it makes value for GM shareholders, we’ll do it.”

Edited July 26, 2006 by HarleyEarl