Opel Ampera EV Police Cruiser: Volt's European Cousin Getting Ready for Patrol

If there's one way to kick-start sales of specialty vehicles like the Chevrolet Volt and its European counterpart, the Opel Ampera, that's by enlisting the government as one of your clients. And with a starting price of €42,900 (about US$58,000 at the current exchange rates) in Europe, GM's Opel division will need all the help it can get to sell the Ampera.

Well before the Ampera hits European showrooms at the end of the year, Opel is already exploring the possibility of a police package for its range-extended electric vehicle. According to the company, the Ampera could be the perfect police car for urban use.

Like the Volt, Opel's version of the car can be driven in pure electric mode for 40-80 km before the petrol engine kicks in to produce electricity and / or motivate the front driving wheels pushing the total driving range to over 500 km [311 miles]. The Ampera completes the standard sprint in 9 seconds while reaching a top speed of 160 km/h [100 mph].

The final production version of the Ampera will receive its public debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

New Opel Zafira Tourer Concept Previewed in iPad Hologram, Debuts in Geneva

Opel chose a rather unique way to inform us about its new concept model that previews the next generation of the Zafira people carrier, and which is scheduled to make its world premiere at the Geneva Salon in March. The company published a short video accompanied by a photograph showing the firm's design boss Mark Adams holding an iPad through which a hologram of the concept car pops out.

The Zafira Tourer Concept will give us a pretty good idea of what the actual production model will look like (see the latest spy shots here) inside and out when it hits European showrooms within the next 12 months. The minivan's front end styling is obviously inspired by the Ampera, or Opel's version of the Chevrolet Volt, while we can also see that the new Zafira won't be getting sliding rear doors.

GM's European subsidiary describes the car as a “Lounge On Wheels” with the company claiming that the concept brings "on-board flexibility to a new level of sophistication and comfort."

“We’ve applied the lounge concept to a motor vehicle,” says Mark Adams, Vice President Opel/Vauxhall Design. “A lounge is a place you want to escape to and relax, a place where you really want to be. We wanted to offer the same feeling in a monocab and make it the lounge you want to spend time in.”

The new Zafira is based on the Astra's hardware and shares its underpinnings with the Chevrolet Orlando. It will feature seating for seven passengers in three rows of individual seats, with power train options to mirror those of the current European market Astra.

Opel Releases More Info and Photos of 2011 Antara Facelift

We've already laid eyes on Opel's and sister company Vauxhall's rehashed Antara, but the automaker just came out with a fresh batch of photos as well as some additional information on the compact SUV, including performance and fuel economy stats for the revamped engine lineup.

The cosmetic changes are pretty much limited to the front fascia and rear lights on the outside and a revised center console plus new graphics for the instruments, and updated trim and upholstery, options inside.

For 2011, the Antara's engine line-up consists of two new 2.2-liter CDTI diesels with 163HP and 184HP, and a new 2.4-liter ECOTEC gasoline variant with 167HP.

The 163HP entry level diesel unit is available with front or all-wheel drive and manual or automatic transmission. The FWD model with a manual gearbox returns a combined fuel consumption of 6.3 lt/100 km (37.3 mpg US or 44.8 mpg UK) with CO2 emissions of 167 g/km, and zero to 100km/h (62 mph) acceleration time of 9.9 seconds and a top speed of 189 km/h (117 mph).

The top-of-the-line 184HP diesel comes standard with all-wheel drive, and is available with both transmission choices. It completes the zero to 100 km/h sprint in 9.6 seconds, has a top speed of 200 km/h (124 mph) and returns 6.6 lt/100 km (35.7 mpg US or 42.8 mpg UK) with CO2 emissions of 175 g/km.

Finally, the 2.4-liter gasoline engine is available with front-wheel drive and manual transmission or all-wheel drive coupled with manual or automatic gearbox. It features a 0 to 100 km/h acceleration time of 10.5 seconds, a maximum speed of 190 km/h (118 mph), fuel consumption of 8.8 lt/100km (26.7 mpg US or 32.1 mpg UK) and CO2 emissions of 206 g/km (manual front-wheel drive version).

Along with the engines, the two available 6-speed transmissions are also newly developed, while improvements to the ABS system and the standard fitting of Hill Start Assist (HSA) which prevents roll-back when driving away on grades, complete the list of changes.

The 2011 Antara will launch in Europe this Spring.

VW Golf Tops European Sales Chart in First Half of 2009, Ford Fiesta Finishes Second

Despite the heavy competition from the new Ford Fiesta that increased its sales in Europe by a hefty 34.2 percent to 243,340 units in the first half of 2009, VW's Golf continues to dominate the sales charts in the Old Continent with sales up 12.7 percent to 254,023 units in the same period, according to data released by Jato Dynamics. The rest of the top five list was rounded out by the Peugeot 207 with 193,778 units (-20,6 percent), the Opel - Vauxhall Corsa with 181,751 units (-14.1 percent) and the Renault Clio with 144,512 units (-28.0 percent).

Notably, the first ten places were occupied exclusively by European automakers - okay Opel / Vauxhall (at least for the time being) and Ford are controlled by their American parent companies.

Volkswagen was also Europe's top-selling car brand in the first half of the year with 842,787 vehicles sold, up 0.7 percent over the same period in 2008. Ford finished in second place with 666,548 units, down 3.6 percent over last year, followed by GM's Opel - Vauxhall division with 557,739 units (-16.8 percent), Fiat with 542,115 units (-1.4 percent) and Renault with 520,763 units (-18.4 percent).

Data: Jato Dynamics