General Motors will cut ties with its Saturn brand by the end of the year, but that won’t mark the end of Opel vehicles in the United States. Saturn currently stands as GM’s Opel import division, but that responsibility will soon switch over to Buick .
Although rumors of an Opel-ized Buick have been swirling for some time now, GM’ Product Board has officially signed off on the plan, according to GM Inside News. However, the first Opel-sourced Buick product will not be based on the Antara (Saturn Vue) or Insignia as first thought, but rather the Astra hatchback.
The Saturn Astra hasn’t exactly set the sales charts on fire, but GM is hoping for a different outcome when Astra switches over to the Buick brand. Unlike the current Astra, Buick will be getting an all-new model designed with the U.S. market in mind.
The new Astra will roll into Buick dealers in late 2011 as a 2012 model, although the Buick version won’t likely wear the Astra nameplate. In order to keep costs in line – a major problem with the Saturn Astra – GM will produce the Buick Astra in North America. GM has yet to officially decide on a production location, although the company’s Lordstown, Ohio and San Luis Potosi, Mexico plants are the early frontrunners. It remains unclear if both the three- and five-door variants of the Astra will make it into Buick’s lineup.
Although there has been a lot of talk about GM’s plan to sell Opel, that decision won’t affect future Opel-sourced Buick. GM is actually looking to sell Adam Opel, not GM Europe AG. GM Europe owns the rights to all of Opel’s designs and engineering, regardless of what happens to the Adam Opel brand.
