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Opel getting 5.2 billion dollar investment from GM

Never fear, Opel fans. General Motors isn't sending the brand out to pasture. The European automaker is set to receive a massive $5.2 billion investment from GM between now and 2016 as part of a larger effort to solidify Opel as GM's design and manufacturing backbone in Europe. Opel plans to return to profitability by the middle of this decade under its DRIVE!2022 business plan, and the cash infusion from GM should help make that projection a reality. Even so, it may be some time before Opel is able to turn its fortunes around.
The automaker lost $1.8 billion last year, up from $700 million the year prior. Opel faces numerous challenges compounded by the fact that the European Union continues to be mired in economic slump. Even so, the new investment helps put rumors that GM had plans to sell Opel to bed. You can read the full press release on the funds below.

Opel Adam looking to get dirty with friends

If there's a single phrase in the automotive lexicon that makes us want to obliterate our delicate middle ear organs with a pickaxe, it's "lifestyle car." Opel has taken the unfortunate step of dropping the company's Adam into that phylum, which is a shame since the little runabout looks downright dashing in rally guise. Opel has just announced that it will show off its new FIA R2-spec Adam at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show next month. Expect to see the little competitor go through homologation and final development early this year, with privateer teams able to purchase their own shortly thereafter.
With a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine that provides 185 horsepower and 140 pound feet of torque in rally spec, the Adam should be reasonably quick. A five-speed sequential transmission and limited slip differential put that muscle down, and four-piston Brembo front brakes help bring the party to a stop. The driver also gets the luxury of a hydraulic handbrake and the cabin is fitted with Sparco competition seats, an LCD gear indicator and a MONIT trip computer. Check out the full press release below for more information.
Opel is also set to show off its Adam ROCKS Concept. The design study is an "urban mini-crossover" that's both wider and taller than the current production Adam. Check out out in the associated gallery, and be sure to take a peek at the quick press release.

Opel Insignia Country Tourer is the Buick crossover we really want [w/video]

Opel brought out its entire Insignia range for the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show, with particular attention paid to each new models refreshed features. Like its colonial cousin, the Buick Regal, the Insignia has gotten a fairly standard mid-cycle freshening that's designed to tide customers over until the next-generation model arrives.
One of the models we've been rather curious about since its debut a few months back was the Insignia Country Tourer - a sort of competitor for soft-roaders like the Subaru Outback and Audi Allroad - that will only be sold in Europe. The lifted, five-door Insignia is distantly related to our Regal, but strikes us as a much more capable, better driving vehicle than the lumbering beast that is the Buick Enclave. Certainly, we'd have no qualms about the Insignia Country Tourer coming to the US and slotting in between the Encore and Enclave. Wishful thinking we know, but do you really blame us?
Take a look up top for our full suite of live images, while photos and a press release on the Insignia Country Tourer are down below. We've also got video of the Country Tourer, which looks like b-roll footage from an episode of Top Gear. Scroll down for more.