Opel Corsa made in Korea to European tastes
We’ve already discussed how a Korean Opel Corsa might fare in Europe and it seems that General Motors’ european division is just as aware of the fact as the consumer is. According to Autocar, GM Europe has a challenge on its hands convincing European customers that a Korean designed Opel Corsa will be to their taste.
The Korean research and development facilities are working on the next Corsa platform, but General Motors has said the car will be engineered in Germany. That should go some way to appeasing customer concerns over build quality, but the design work is still being done in Korea, meaning Europe will have to put up with an Asian-styled Corsa, unless the R&D division produces a European design.
Previously, reports have been that the new Opel Corsa could even be manufactured in Korea which won’t bode well for its success on the European market. It may seem harsh to judge a model that we haven’t even seen yet, but the Corsa is a big seller for Opel and one of the reasons behind that has been its reliability and quality. General Motors might still produce a good version, but it will have quite a hurdle to negotiate in European prejudices before it’s accepted.
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MotorMouth
30 Jan 2011 - 00:42 - #1Where your assessment falls down is in assuming that the GM-DAT studio in Sth Korea is staffed by Korean designers, which is false. Although, even if it were, I think you’ll find that the reborn Camaro was designed by an ex-pat Korean. In fact, if I was a car designer I would be hugely insulted at the inference that I was only able to design cars for my own culture. GM-DAT has done some terrific design work, like the diesel powered Chevrolet WTCC concept car from a few years ago (the bright blue one). The Cruze is also a great looking car, especially in racing guise.
As for Korean quality, GM-DAT has one of the most modern production lines in the world, which is why cars like Cruze are of such a high standard. And let’s be honest, how good does a car need to be to be more reliable than a VW, Renault or Peugeot? GM-DAT is not Daewoo. In fact, Daewoo only exists as a Korean brand-name, which makes it exactly like Vauxhall.