General Motors Corsa

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Image:Vauxhall.corsa.bristol.750pix.jpg Image:CorsaEnvoy12v.jpg The Corsa is a small car or subcompact produced by General Motors in Europe. The Corsa is sold under a large range of brand names in different countries:

United Kingdom: Vauxhall Corsa
The rest of Europe: Opel Corsa
Latin America: Chevrolet Corsa, Chevrolet Celta, Chevrolet Chevy C2, Chevrolet Classic, Chevrolet Classic Furgão (box van)
Asia: Chevrolet Corsa, Chevrolet Sail
Middle East: Chevrolet Barina
Australasia: Holden Barina (until 2005)
China: Buick Sail and Sail S-RV (until 2005), Chevrolet Sail and S.RV (from 2005)
Japan: Opel Vita (Toyota already had a model using the Corsa name)
South Africa: Opel Corsa (The model introduced in 1996 is still sold in South Africa - in addition to the latest Corsa - as a "Corsa Lite" and is highly popular. Sales are about 1500 units per month in South Africa)

It is not sold in the United States or Canada.

The Corsa has been built at GM's plant in Figueruelas, a small city in the Spanish region of Aragón, and is also produced in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, India, and China.

1 Opel Corsa A
2 Opel Corsa B
3 Opel Corsa C
4 Future
5 External links

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Opel Corsa A

Image:Opel corsa a v sst.jpg The front-wheel drive Corsa was first launched in 1983 to replace the Vauxhall Chevette and the Vauxhall Viva in the UK and to introduce a smaller model below Kadett in the rest of Europe. Built in Zaragoza, Spain, the first Corsas were three-door hatchback and two-door saloon models, with four-door and five-door versions arriving two years later. The basic model was called just Corsa which was followed by Corsa Luxus, Corsa Berlina and the sporty Corsa SR. Couple of years later Corsa received a face-lift, which included new front grille and bumper and some other minor changes. The models were called Corsa LS, Corsa GL, Corsa GLS and Corsa GT. It was known in the UK market as the Vauxhall Nova. The car became best known in the UK as a popular choice of car driving schools. Although many young British 'boy-racers' and 'Chavs' customised or 'souped up' their models (and continue to do so to this day), the Nova was usually seen as dull. Power came from 1.0 L, 1.2 L, 1.3 L, and 1.4 L petrol engines which were short on performance but strong on economy. All of these engines were based on GM's well proven Family II design with the exception of the 1.0L - which used the older OHV unit from the Kadett-C. The engines and most of the mechanical components were derived from those used in the Astra/Kadett.

In the UK the Opel Corsa A was called the Vauxhall Nova and in 1993 was replaced by the Vauxhall Corsa (Opel Corsa B).

A 1.6 L multi-point fuel injected engine with 100 hp (74 kW) and capable of 186 km/h (115 mph) was later added to the Corsa/Nova range, giving decent performance and being badged as a GSi or, in Britain, GTE (only pre-facelift models, later models were all called GSi). An 82 hp 1.4 L multi-point fuel injected model became also available as SRi, which was otherwise mechanically identical to the GSi. The car's handling was still criticized and the styling called dull. There were also numerous reports of single-vehicle roll-over accidents that called the handling into question.

The design was freshened in 1990 with new bumpers, front lights and grille and with a new interior, but the car was showing its age against strong competition from cars like the Renault Clio and Peugeot 106.

It remains popular in the UK, where the cars have a cult following amongst enthuisiasts because of the simplicity of modification. Popular modifications include C20 XE and C20 LET engine conversions, which create reasonably quick cars, quite cheaply, which are ideal for hill climbs and track days. There are several clubs which provide users with good sources of information on maintaining and modifying.

Famous former owners include Colin McRae, Russel Underhill and Sean Bean

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Opel Corsa B

In 1993, a curvier, more attractive, Corsa was unveiled, and in the UK Vauxhall dropped the Nova name, the car now being known as the Corsa in the UK. The next year, it was launched by Holden in Australia, as the Barina replacing a version of the Suzuki Swift sold under that name. This proved a success, and was the first Spanish-built car to be sold in significant volumes on the Australian market.

Power came from 1.2 L, 1.4 L and 1.6 L Family 1 petrol engines, as well as an economical 1.5 L turbo-diesel. Unlike the previous model, there was no sedan version, but one was designed in Brazil for the Latin American market, as sedans were much preferred to hatchbacks. This was also introduced in South Africa and India. A station wagon, panel van and pick-up truck were also introduced. The wagon version was sold in some European markets, including Italy, badged as an Opel. Image:HoldenCombo.jpg

A 1.0 L 3-cylinder Family 0 economy version was launched in 1996, and a Lotus-tuned suspension was added as well as an exterior refresh. Strong competition came from new models like the Peugeot 206, Fiat Punto and Skoda Fabia.

A German designed Cabriolet version was offered in this model, based on the 3-door hatchback. The cabriolet featured a cloth roof, and a padded roll cage. The sedan model is still built and sold in Brazil since 2005 as the Chevrolet Classic, and Chevrolet Corsa Classic in Argentina. A budget version, the Chevrolet Celta, has bodywork resembling the late 90s Vectra and Astra. Mexico has their version of the hatchback and sedan, known as the Chevy C2, which is also sold in Colombia. The sedan and wagon versions were produced in China by GM Shanghai as Buick Sail and Buick Sail S-RV, respectively, until 2005. In 2005, they became known as the Chevrolet Sail and S.RV. In India, the hatchback and wagon versions were sold as the Corsa Sail and Corsa Swing respectively until the end of 2005. The hatchback model is also still produced, and extensively marketed in South Africa as the Corsa Lite and Corsa Lite Plus.

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Opel Corsa C

Image:Opel Corsa 2004 silver.jpg Image:2005 Chevrolet Corsa.jpg The current model Corsa was introduced in 2001, with distinctive styling for the three-door and five-door hatchbacks. General Motors dubbed the new chassis Gamma and intended to use it in a number of other models. A sedan version is also offered in Latin America, South Africa and the Middle East. The Brazilian version of the Corsa sold in those countries has a distinctive front end, more conservative than its European counterpart. Brazil also offers a pick-up truck version of the Corsa named Chevrolet Montana which, as well as the sedan, is exported in Completely Knocked-Down (CKD) kit to South Africa for local assembly. In South Africa the hatchback is known simply as The New Corsa and the pick-up version, as the Utility.

The 1.0 L, 1.2 L and 1.4 L and petrol engines are carry overs from the previous range, but the 1.7 L Circle L turbodiesel and 1.8 L petrol engines are both new. In 2002, the Corsa chassis spawned a mini-MPV called the Opel Meriva, development of which began under Opel in Rüsselsheim but finished by Chevrolet do Brasil.

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Future

In Australia and New Zealand, the current model will be dropped in 2005-06 in favour of a version of the Chevrolet Kalos, which will become the new Holden Barina.

A new version of the Gamma platform has been codeveloped by Fiat and Opel. It will be used by the 2006 Fiat Grande Punto (a stretched version of the Fiat Punto), 2007 Opel Corsa and future versions of Lancia Ypsilon and Fiat Idea. GM Daewoo will take responsibility for future development of the Gamma platform, so the production of the future (post-2010) Corsa might be outsourced to South Korea as well.

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