Geneva Video: Opel Meriva Concept & Agila Minicar

GM Europe’s Chief Marketing Officer Alain Visser, talks about Opel’s Geneva Motor Show stars, the Meriva Concept (see here) with its rear-hinged rear doors and the all-new Agila minicar (click here) that will be launched shortly in the European market. The video includes shots from both vehicles at Opel’s Geneva Show booth. –Video right after the jump

Officially Official: Opel Meriva Concept

Following a leakage on the net last Tuesday, Opel released five official images and yet another teaser press release containing initial information on its upcoming Meriva Concept that will debut at the Geneva Show next week. The compact minivan concept previews the second generation Meriva and possibly, a future Saturn model that could compete against the Honda Jazz. Apart from its more bold design language compared to the current generation Meriva, the concept also features rear-hinged rear doors that swing open toward the back of the car. –Details and high-res pics after the jump

Press Release:

Meriva Concept: Dynamic Design And Innovative FlexDoors System

-FlexDoors make monocabs more versatile, comfortable and safer

-Design: New level of dynamics and improved practicality

Rüsselsheim. The Opel Meriva Concept, due to be unveiled next week at the 78th International Motor Show in Geneva (March 6 – 16, 2008), illustrates how the new Opel design language can be adapted to create bold, fresh design solutions for this segment.

The Opel Meriva Concept takes flexibility to new heights with its innovative FlexDoors system, which consists of rear-hinged rear doors that swing open toward the back of the car. As the B-pillars have been purposely retained for passive security reasons, the Meriva Concept’s front and rear doors can also be opened independently of each other. Other rear-hinged rear doors already on the market can only be opened after the front door has been opened. This innovation makes access to the car interior much easier and also offers a range of safety benefits over conventional car doors. In the Meriva Concept, this innovation is combined with the highly variable FlexSpace rear seating system familiar from the production Meriva.

The FlexDoors system also enhances comfort and functionality, as the highest point of the roof – just behind the B-pillars – is exactly where the passengers enter and exit the vehicle. This architecture enabled designers to create a very dynamic and unique silhouette, with the arched roof line sloping down to the C-pillars.

Especially eye-catching is the dynamic “wave” in the window line just behind the B-pillars, which provides an excellent all-round view for rear passengers, particularly for children. The body also boasts the distinctive ”blade” bodyside form, which was a design element of the GTC Coupé and Flextreme. Another feature is the U-shaped windshield, which stretches up and back over the rear passengers’ heads – echoing the Astra GTC’s panorama windshield. The slim A-pillars and windshield pulled far down ensure plenty of light and a spacious interior atmosphere. Both elements contribute to the outstanding all-round visibility for the occupants.

Opel Meriva Concept Official Images

The first official images of Opel’s forthcoming Meriva Concept made their way into various internet forums this morning giving us a full-blown view of the compact mnivan. The concept previews the next-generation Meriva and it features rear-hinged rear doors on both sides that open to a 90-degree angle. Weirdly enough –for a prototype that is, it retains the B-columns. As for the interior, the Meriva Concept’s cabin design looks like its two steps away from production. –Check out all the photos after the jump

Geneva Preview: Opel Meriva Minivan Concept

GM’s German subsidiary Opel has released a colored rendering along with extra details on its Geneva Motor Show Meriva Concept that previews the company’s next generation compact minivan expected sometime in 2009.

The prototype’s most prominent feature is the rear-hinged rear doors on both sides of the car called FlexDoors. While many other manufactures like Mazda and MINI have already presented suicide type rear doors in the market, in the Meriva concept they can open independently from the conventionally designed front doors. However, we must note that we question the functionality of suicide type doors in tight parking spots. –Details after the jump

PRESS RELEASE

MERIVA CONCEPT: NEXT LEVEL OF FLEXIBILITY

• World premiere: FlexDoors make monocabs more comfortable, versatile and safer
• Design: Dynamic lines with no concessions in practicality
• Lifestyle: Exit the rear of the car in style

With the dynamically styled Meriva Concept, Opel/Vauxhall presents the next level of monocab flexibility at the International Motor Show in Geneva (March 6 – 16, 2008). The concept car features rear-hinged rear doors on both sides of the car called FlexDoors. While the front doors are conventionally designed with front hinges, the rear doors swing open towards the back of the car. Another feature of the family-oriented Meriva Concept is that the front and rear doors can open independently of each other. Rear-hinged rear doors already on the market can only be opened after the front door has been opened, which severely limits their practicality.

GM’s patented FlexDoors innovation offers a wide range of benefits:

• Greater functionality: entering and exiting the vehicle is more convenient as the rear doors open to a 90-degree angle, creating a much wider aperture than standard car doors. Thanks to the high roofline, rear passengers also have more headroom when getting in and out of the car. The interior is much more accessible, so stowing a briefcase behind the front seat, for instance, is considerably easier.
• Higher level of safety: securing children in the back seats is much easier. The
  rear-hinged rear doors also improve control over children exiting the car, as they can be better seen from the different seating positions. The “safety zone” created between both doors also makes it much more difficult for them to step out into traffic than with conventional doors.
• More style: entering and exiting the rear of the vehicle not only looks cool and elegant, but also feels much more natural.

FlexDoors’ smooth operation is backed up by an array of patented innovations developed by GM engineers. A safety system ensures the doors can only be opened from the inside or outside when there is no risk to the passengers. The Meriva Concept also features an automatic electronic child lock, which supplements the conventional mechanical system. The concept car also has B-pillars not only for independent opening but also for side-impact safety reasons.

The Meriva Concept’s design is distinguished by its attractive combination of practicality and spaciousness with very dynamic and cool styling. The concept car’s distinctive window line, arched roof, wide track and impressively sculpted body give a good indication of what is to be expected from future Opel/Vauxhall production monocabs.

“The Meriva Concept clearly illustrates how our new Opel/Vauxhall design language can be adapted to create bold, fresh design solutions for the monocab segment,” says Mark Adams, Vice President of Design, General Motors Europe. Especially eye-catching is the dynamic ‘wave’ of the window line just behind the B-pillars, which provides an excellent all-round view for rear passengers. This also enabled designers to create a dynamic and unique silhouette and still provide good visibility for children in the rear. The body also boasts the distinctive “blade” bodyside form, which was a design element of the GTC Coupé and Flextreme. Another feature is the U-shaped windshield, which stretches up and back over the rear passengers’ heads. Rear section elements – in particular the rear lights – echo the Insignia, Opel/Vauxhall’s new upper mid-size class car due to be unveiled in the summer. The monocab’s roof slopes gently downward towards the rear, underlining its dynamic character.

“The FlexDoors concept is a logical enhancement of our monocabs’ flexibility,” explains Alain Visser, Chief Marketing Officer, General Motors Europe. “With the Zafira’s Flex7® seating system and the Meriva’s FlexSpace concept, we took on a similar pioneering role in interior flexibility.”

Opel/Vauxhall is enjoying great success with its monocab designs: in 2007, almost 335,000 Zafira and Meriva models were sold. And with the new Agila, monocab experts Opel/Vauxhall now also offer an entry-level monocab in the mini-car segment. Every fifth Opel/Vauxhall model sold today is a monocab, while in the total market it is just every eighth car.

Opel Meriva Concept: New Teaser Picture

Our “compañeros” from Motorpasion have managed to snap a colour image of the forthcoming Opel Meriva minivan concept that will debut at next month’s Geneva Show. Though the new picture still doesn’t reveal much of the minivan concept, it’s better than the black and white sketch that Opel released a couple of weeks ago (see here). The concept previews the production version of the next-generation Meriva which is expected to be introduced in early 2009. As with the current model, it too will be based on the Opel Corsa.

Via: Motorpasion

Geneva Preview: Opel to Debut Meriva Minivan Concept

The Meriva Concept is one of three GM world premieres that are set to appear at this year’s Geneva Motor Show on March 4. According to the German carmaker, the Meriva Concept draws styling cues from previous GM styling studies including the tick-shaped swage line and rear lamp clusters that typified the GTC Coupe and Flextreme models. Understandably, the concept will give us a pretty good idea to as how the Opel’s next generation small minivan could look like.