Opel-Vauxhall Unveils Adam City Car

General Motors’s European Opel/Vauxhall subsidiaries release the first pictures of their new Adam A-segment car, calling it an urban-chic minicar that can be personalized in more than 1 million different ways.

The 3-door, 4-seat vehicle, to debut at the Paris auto show in September, is meant to appeal to image-conscious buyers with its use of premium materials and design cues often found in the luxury segment.

Designed by Briton Mark Adams’ team in Europe, the Adam incorporates a “floating” roof that is visually disconnected from the body, making the use of 2-tone color schemes more impactful, the auto makers say.

The Adam has design signatures from other Opel/Vauxhall models, including the crisp line around the door handle (GTC), wing-shaped chrome grille bar (new Astra) and blade shape in the lower doors.

But the car will be the first in the A-segment to offer optional light-emitting-diode daytime running lights.

The Adam is available in three trims – JAM (fashionable/colorful), GLAM (elegant/sophisticated) and SLAM (racy/sporty), the auto makers say.

In a bid to better compete with Mini and the Fiat 500, there is a wide variety of exterior colors to choose from, including two different roof shades. Buyers also can choose their interior headlining, including an LED-lit starlight roof trim.

 “No other car in this segment can be individualized as much as (the) Adam because we are offering virtually unlimited exterior/interior color, fabric and kit combination choices,” Mark Adams says in a statement. “It’s very unlikely that you’ll find two identical Adams out there.”

Adams, vice president-design for GM Europe, switches within GM to lead Cadillac and Buick brand design starting Aug. 1.

The Adam will be offered with a choice of three Ecoflex 4-cyl. gasoline engines – a 1.2L 69 hp, plus two 1.4L engines with either 86 hp or 99 hp. All will be available with optional start/stop technology and will be mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox.

At a later stage, the Adam will be the first car in the Opel/Vauxhall range to adopt the auto makers’ new-generation small gas engine featuring direct-injection turbocharging and new 6-speed transmission.

The car’s new top-of-the-range navigation and infotainment system integrates Bluetooth wireless technology with Android or Apple smartphones, making Internet-based applications available in the cabin.

The system uses a 7-in. (18-cm) full-color touchscreen display that also plugs into the owner’s smartphone and replicates the interface, giving the user control of his phone via the touchscreen.

Other technologies included with the Adam normally found only in more premium cars includes electric power steering, an advanced park-assist system and hill-start assist.

The Adam will be built at Opel's plant in Eisenach, Germany.