The new Astra rides on the same Delta 2 global platform as the Chevrolet Volt and Cruze. The Astra will be released initially as a five-door hatchback, aimed at such popular European compacts as the Volkswagen Golf and the Ford Focus, both of which will be sold in the U.S.
Eventually, GM plans to add a three-door hatchback, a four-door sedan, a four-door wagon and a hardtop coupe-cabriolet to the Astra range.
GM says the Astra engine family will be composed of four gasoline and four diesel units, including an all-new turbocharged 138-horsepower 1.4-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine. A two-mode hybrid variant is planned, as well as a frugal ecoFlex unit with ultra-low CO2.
About those styling cues: If you see the resemblance between the new Astra and the midsize Opel Insignia, it's no coincidence. The same team, led by GM Europe design boss Mark Adams, did both vehicles.
Inside Line says: If the redesigned 2010 Opel Astra doesn't make the transatlantic trek, GM's U.S. dealers will be deprived of what may be the automaker's best-looking global small car. — Paul Lienert, Correspondent
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