Do We Need a Crossover-Styled Adam? Opel and Vauxhal Seem to Think So

A report from Autonews Europe says that Opel/Vauxhall is looking to make a crossover variant of its…iPhone on wheels, the Adam. GM’s European branch will apparently be launching it in 2014 to go up against VW’s Cross Up and Fiat Panda 4×4, armed with more ground clearance, more plastic (cladding) and a bigger price tag.

The namem which this new and more rugged Adam is to bear, has yet to be decided, but it will draw heavily upon the Rocks concept shown in Geneva this year. It will lose the Fiat 500C-style cloth top, as that is said to make its way into a separate spinoff rivaling the Italian car and, otherwise I don’t think it will differ too much from the motor show car.

Is such a version of the small Opel really justified – am I alone in thinking it’s a bit pointless, and quite obviously a plan to extract more money and an attempt to boost the appeal of a vehicle that not many buyers are quite sure about yet?

It will cost them pennies to screw the plastic bits in place, and the taller springs can’t cost that much either. Moreover, chances are the crossover-Adam will only be available in higher levels of trim – like Dacia is doing with the Sandero/Sandero Stepway and that’s working out. This will allow them to charge buyers for gadgets they may not need, and bump up the price.

By Andrei Nedelea

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