New Opel Small Car to Be Called Adam

VIENNA – Adam Opel announces today its new small car, currently known under the codename Junior, will be called the Adam.

Pilot production already is under way at the General Motors subsidiary’s plant in Eisenach, Germany.

The new model is expected to be unveiled at the Paris auto show in September, with the start of volume production scheduled for January.

Opel uses an unusual way to announce the new car’s name. Rather than a press release, the auto maker posts a comic strip to its media website that includes the annoucement.

In addition, an Adam prototype drove a special route on the streets of Frankfurt today at 6:30 a.m. in order to spell out its own name and make it visible on YouTube and Facebook.

Adam Opel is the name of the auto maker’s founder as well as the company name.

The Adam is different in one other way. Most Opel cars have an “a” at the end of their model names.

This is true for the Agila, Corsa, Meriva, Mokka, Astra, Zafira, Insignia, Ampera and Antara, but not for the Combo, Vivaro and Movano light-commercial vehicles.