Vauxhall Insignia

Vectra out, Insignia in!

Vauxhall is planning to get rid of the Vectra name in an effort to give its big-selling family car a fresher image

Auto Express Car Reviews

Visionary man
President of GM Europe Carl-Peter Forster has ambitious plans for Vectra replacement.

By James Foxall

19th December 2006

We first revealed the Luton firm's plans for a hi-tech Vectra replacement back in Issue 880, but now company sources have confirmed to us that when it unveils the new model in 2008, it will be called the Insignia. Speaking exclusively to Auto Express, Carl-Peter Forster, the European president of Vauxhall's parent firm General Motors, stressed: "We will change its name for the new car.


	The production-ready model will be on display at the Paris expo later that year, and is due to go on sale in the UK early in 2009

"Vectra is too connected to the conservative current design. The new model will be sleek and more like a coupé to look at, but of course it will still be a family car." Vauxhall first used the Insignia name on a concept car seen three years ago.

The sporty looking four-door family saloon was designed by Martin Smith. He has since moved to Ford and penned the highly acclaimed new Mondeo. GM is now keen to follow suit by making its cars more adventurous to look at. Forster added: "Design is vital. It's going to be the number one reason to buy our cars."

A pre-production version of the Insignia is expected to make its public debut at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show. The production-ready model will be on display at the Paris expo later that year, and is due to go on sale in the UK early in 2009.