European Carmakers Must Deal with the Crisis Fast or Face the Consequences

A number of European carmakers are facing the same problem: they have more facilities and employees churning out more cars than they can sell.

Automotive CEOs acknowledge the fact and understand that something needs to be done about it. Fiat’s Sergio Marchionne has often said that European carmakers must consolidate or risk going down and he is constantly trying to tie-up the Fiat-Chrysler group with another carmaker.

GM’s Dan Akerson has stated that he's fed up with losing money with Opel and Vauxhall. However, the recently formed alliance with PSA Peugeot Citroen could provide a solution to this problem.

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Geneva 2012: Opel and Vauxhall Make a Mokka out of the Buick Encore

General Motors has set its eyes on the small crossover market with the new Mokka that will be sold in Britain under the Vauxhall brand and the rest of the continent as an Opel.

The European version of the North American Buick Encore, which made its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show, will compete against the Nissan Juke and the soon-to-be revealed in production form, Ford EcoSport.

The 4.28 meter long B-segment crossover has seating for five passengers and will be offered with a choice of front- or all-wheel drive.

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Chevy Volt and Opel Ampera win 2012 European Car of the Year Award

The Chevrolet Volt and its sister model, the Ampera, which is sold as under both the Opel and Vauxhall nameplates, have won the 2012 European Car of the Year (COTY) Award with 330 points.

Coming into second place was the Volkswagen Up! city car with 281 points while the new generation of the Ford Focus finished third with 256 points.

The other cars that made it to the final round of the competition were the Range Rover Evoque (186 points), Fiat Panda (156 points), Citroen DS5 (144 points) and the Toyota Yaris (122 points).

The competition brought together votes from 59 automotive journalists in 23 European countries.

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