New Opel Corsa Targets Young Fun Generation

Representative survey: Car still important part of enjoying life for young people. With the new Corsa, Opel takes the car as a fun factor seriously

RUSSELSHEIM, Germany, October 10 2006; Despite traffic jams, increasing gasoline prices and a lack of parking spaces, a car is still an important part of having fun. This was the opinion expressed by almost 75 percent of the twentysomething urbanites who took Opel's survey, and was analyzed closely during the new Corsa's development. With this latest successful model, Opel takes a huge step forward in its drive to rejuvenate the brand, putting the question of what fun means to young people today at the heart of the Corsa's design.

"Fun is the decisive factor for the twentysomething generation living in cosmopolitan cities," says Alain Visser, who developed the brand's architecture in his role as Executive Director of European Marketing. This statement is confirmed by the representative survey Opel conducted with 1600 twenty to thirty-year-olds in the major cities of eight European countries. As a car is seen as an important part of life, it must fulfill this expectation. The surprising outcome of the survey was that driving is by no means a lonely affair for young people. In fact, a car is more a place for friends to get together. 86 percent said they enjoy going on holiday by car with their friends, while 77 percent highly rate having romantic encounters in a car. For 57 percent of young men, it is a place to exchange affections, whereas 64 percent of women enjoy chatting with their best friend while behind the wheel.

When the car is so integrated into daily life, it is no wonder that three-quarters of those surveyed said the first thing they do in a new car is go for a spin with their friends. And as 44 percent said they would personalize it, the car itself must also reflect customers' desire for individualization.

With that in mind, new Corsa customers have the possibility to customize their car ex works with individual interior equipment details such as piano lacquer or heated steering wheel, and so put together a completely individual model variant.

Designers also put great emphasis on the feel-good ambience in the interior. The attention to detail is highlighted by the refined backlit turn buttons for the climate control, radio and light, as well as the colorful interior design.

As a leisure and holiday companion, Corsa engineers designed the newcomer with versatile storage and transport possibilities. There is an optional space in the doors for 1.5-liter water bottles, a spacious drawer under the front passenger seat and Flex-Fix, a pull-out bicycle carrier that is integrated into the rear bumper. Sporty variable direct steering and a dynamic chassis add to driving fun. But top speed was of less interest to a large number of the young people surveyed: 44 percent said that they did not have any fun by driving fast.

When it comes to the point made in the survey by three quarters of the young urbanites - that they would have even more fun if they had more money available - Opel has the answer: new Corsa prices start at 10,990 euros.

Text and photos can be downloaded from the Internet at http://media.opel.com.