Drew Dowdell

Previous Page Next Page Ahead of the 2016 Paris Motor Show, Opel gave an early look at a new variant of their Opel Karl city-car called the Karl Rocks. The Karl Rocks, gains the looks of a small SUV with a raise in ride height by 18mm (0.7 inches), added perimeter body cladding, integrated skid pads, and functional roof rails. The interior is largely carryover from the standard Karl except for a new seat fabric exclusive to the Rocks. Mechanically, the Karl Rocks maintains the same powertrain as a standard Karl, with a 1.0 liter 3-cylinder which produce 75 hp. Transmissions are either a 5-speed manual, or a 5-speed EasyTronic (a single clutch 5-speed manual transmission that has automatic gear shifting) that gives the functionality of an automatic transmission without as much additional cost. No all-wheel drive is available. Three entertainment systems are available, a base radio, and two versions of Opel's Intellilink. Both Intellilink options feature Android Auto and Apple CarPlay The Opel Karl Rocks goes on sale in Europe later this year. Could there be a Chevrolet Spark version in the works? If the trademark filing for the Chevrolet Spark Activ is any indicator, we think yes. Source: Opel Media Press Release on Page 2 The New KARL ROCKS: SUV-Makeover for Opel’s Entry Level Model · SUV-inspired: Raised ride height and rugged body parts for the urban jungle · Extrovert: The wild Opel KARL with expressive exterior is perfect fit for individualists · Connected: Opel OnStar and Radio R 4.0 IntelliLink available · In the spotlight: KARL ROCKS to celebrate world premiere at Paris Motor Show Rüsselsheim. Are you looking for a small car that has the stylish looks and upmarket features of a much bigger and often much pricier vehicle? Or are you looking for a mini car that can handle the daily challenges of the urban jungle while simultaneously dazzling onlookers with its trendy SUV look and feel? If this is the case, the new Opel KARL ROCKS should appeal to you. The new car, which is set to celebrate its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show (Booth 501 in Hall 5-2; October 1-16), bears a strong resemblance to a true SUV and shares many virtues connected with this vehicle class such as an elevated seating position that enables better visibility and easier access to the cabin or an outstanding connectivity offer. Furthermore, the new Opel KARL ROCKS maintains the unquestionable practicality of the Opel KARL with five doors, five seats, compact dimensions and a maximum trunk space over 1,000 liters up to the roof making it the ideal vehicle for a broad audience of city dwellers. Like KARL, the rocking version will thus be big on everything – except size and price. Clever design tweaks set the KARL ROCKS, available for order from the end of the year, apart from most of its A-segment rivals and in fact also from its tamer sibling. The functional silver roof rails, rugged front and rear bumpers with integrated skid pads (the former also including fog light), front and rear wheelhouse moldings and unique 15-inch bi-color look alloy wheels blend in perfectly with typical Opel design cues such as the Opel blade that sweeps dynamically up towards the rear. Combined with the sloping roofline this creates a dynamic, sporty appearance that links the KARL ROCKS to the KARL while simultaneously giving it a distinct rugged look. The car’s off-road character and outgoing personality are further emphasized by an 18-mm increase in ride height enabling better visibility in dense urban traffic or when admiring the view while cruising along country roads. The raised ride height also brings further advantages with it – KARL ROCKS can also venture off tarmacked roads and negotiate uneven surfaces better. Furthermore, the 18-mm increase facilitates ingress and egress. The outdoor atmosphere created by the exterior design continues on the inside of the car with the unique “Favo” fabric upholstery for the seats. The design is reminiscent of honeycomb and exclusively available for the KARL ROCKS. Elsewhere, front door sill plates and the high gloss frame for the standard Radio R 300 or the optional Radio R 4.0 IntelliLink system, which brings the world of smartphones to the KARL ROCKS via Apple CarPlay or Android Auto and enables navigation via Apple Maps or Google Maps, add to the new level of sophistication. Alternatively, Navi 4.0 IntelliLink offers an integrated navigation system. The connectivity offering of the KARL ROCKS is rounded off by the availability of Opel’s personal connectivity and service assistant Opel OnStar, making it and its tamer sibling the best connected mini cars on the market. However, KARL ROCKS has much more to offer than its enticing looks and stylish interior – it is also just a practical as the Opel KARL. Five doors guarantee easy access to the front and rear seats while the five seats ensure that even families can enjoy Opel’s stylish mini car with SUV flair. And when needed, the rear seats, with a standard 40/60 folding split, can be folded down completely giving the KARL ROCKS an impressive total trunk space of 1,013 liters up to the roof. Furthermore, Opel’s wild child comes with all of the safety and comfort features available in the regular KARL. City mode reduces steering effort at the push of a button (from Enjoy), greatly facilitating maneuvering in heavy city traffic. Park Assist is also available and assists the driver during parking by issuing an acoustic warning as the car approaches obstacles when reversing. Cruise control with speed limiter regulates driving speeds, which is extremely helpful in complicated urban traffic and in residential areas with a 30 km/h speed limit. Previous Page Next Page View full article

The old CX-9 was shared with the Fusion. For obvious reasons, that is no longer the case.... but it shows that the Fusion platform could be used in an SUV. The Taurus (while technically full size), has been shared with the Edge, Explorer, Flex, MKT, and MKX. Camry, Highlander, RX, Sienna, Venza, and Avalon are all on the Toyota K platform Accord, MDX, Pilot, Odyssey are all related. I'm sure there are more, but that's what I have off the top of my head.

The Cascada, being Astra based, should naturally get the new Astra's dashboard. The 1.6T is a perfectly fine engine... it's just not enough for this particular application. I would have loved to see this engine as a mid-level engine in the Verano, an optional engine in the Encore, and possibly even the base engine in the Regal. In a car that isn't so heavy, it reportedly gets fantastic fuel economy and the power band is excellent.

Even better... build the midsize cars here, and build "Outback/Cross Country"wagons, and crossovers off the same platform like Volvo does.

If people who cared about saving on fuel cared about looks at all then this wouldn't be the best selling hybrid out there and Fisker would still be in business. And no... the Bolt is substantially larger than a Spark inside. It's more like a taller Sonic in terms of size.

Both of those cars have less than half the range of the Bolt. Even if you get the regenerator on the i3, the range is pitifully small, 100 miles even when using gasoline.

It's alot better at not burning gas than all of them.... And there is a market for cars like that.

That is the wagon to bring back wagons!

This thread seems to be stuck in "new content" mode. I have already opened a ticket with the software vendor.

So basically, they're going to be the luxury Jeep division?

Chevrolet release the EPA estimated range of 238 miles for the Chevy Bolt yesterday. A few publications released their experiences exceeding that, with some going as high as 250 miles on a single charge. With most of the affordable EV's having ranges between 90 - 120 miles, a lot of fuss has been made over electric vehicle range anxiety. So far, Telsa is the only manufacturer to offer vehicles with ranges over 200 miles, that are also supplemented by a network of free fast charging stations only for Tesla owners. While the Bolt doesn't have a manufacturer supplied charging network, there is a vast network of free and pay chargers out there. Plugged into a Level-3 DC Fast-Charger and the Bolt can take on 90 miles of range in 30 minutes, 160 miles of range in 60 minutes, or the full 238 mile range in 2 hours. Companies like NRG EVGo will let you do a 0 - 238 mile fill up for about $12.00 plus a $14.95 monthly membership fee. While that is not as cost effective as charging at home ($7.20 at 12c/kWh for 60 kWh), I dare you to find any gasoline powered car that will give you 238 miles of range for that price. When the Bolt was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show back in January, GM said that it would cost as low as $30,000 after federal tax incentives. So, for this reader poll, do you think the 238+ range of the Chevy Bolt would be enough for your daily needs? Hit the poll and reply in the comments below.

Indeed. The reason they stopped selling it has to do with the platform move not sales.

Btw Honda Accord V6, 2 tests, 5.4 and 5.6 seconds to 60.... So yeah, same as a base Tesla. http://www.motortrend.com/news/accord-coupe-vs-mustang-5-reasons-to-go-honda-and-ford/

Bolt beats all of them on mileage. That's the point.

Your comparing a $30K ish car to a $134k car, or you're comparing a $30k car that we can see today and buy in a few weeks to a $40k car that no one has yet seen and very few can buy until 2019 or 2020..... The $66k Model S 60 does 0-60 in 5.5 seconds... or roughly the same as a Honda Accord V6. Do your comparisons get any more absurd?

Also @William Maley I guess this means we need to start our spreadsheets for the next 6 months.

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There is no transfer case in the AWD Tesla's. Its just a smaller motor unit up front.

I liked the older Alfas more.

That's barely even a long term rental!

AWD is optional. If it has a D after the model number, then it's AWD. The D actually stands for dual motors, one in the front and one in the back.

I'm curious how much a normal bus costs. I'm sure the savings in diesel will certainly help offset that, but there is likely a huge start up cost to install enough chargers to get all of the buses charged up for the morning rush.

In that case, it's because there really were 3 nearly identical copies of that article as DFelt and I tried to convert it from a forum post into an article.

I do apologize guys, I had to kill your previous comments in order to fix the thread. This was my screwup, not the software. @dfelt has been trained in how to use the article system now, so future articles of his shouldn't go this bad.