CADILLAC EVOQ COMPLETES GM SUCCESS IN AUTOMOTIVE NEWS INTERNATIONAL CONTEST

Zürich / Detroit - Opel's G90 concept vehicle was named Concept Car of the Year by the authoritative magazine Automotive News International. In a ceremony at the Tokyo Motor Show, the G90 was also presented with the Environmental Concept Car of the Year award by the same magazine. General Motors' commitment to introducing innovative concept vehicles was further underlined by the Cadillac Evoq finishing second in the Concept Car of the Year category.

An initial list of 55 entries was judged on criteria such as production potential, production cost, consumer value and overall innovation, as well as aesthetics, styling direction and engineering. The jury included experts such as Ken Greenley, head of automotive design at the Royal College of Art in London; Gordon Murray, technical director of McLaren Cars Ltd,; Carl Olsen, chair in transportation design at the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit; and Chris Wright, international editor of Automotive News International, a leading monthly publication serving the global automotive industry.

The G90 was unveiled at the recent Frankfurt Motor Show as Opel's vision of an environmentally-compatible family car of the future. With its 44 kW/60 hp, three-cylinder gasoline engine, the G90 produces only 90 grams of CO2 emissions per kilometer, representing a fuel consumption of 3.88 liters per 100 km. Its light-weight design - the car weighs only 750 kilograms - and excellent drag coefficient of 0.22 contributed to that result, yet the vehicle offers plenty of space for four people and their luggage, while also achieving excellent driving performance characteristics.

The crisply tailored lines of the Cadillac Evoq luxury roadster, introduced at the 1999 North American Auto Show in Detroit, establish a bold design direction for future Cadillac models. Evoq also showcases a host of advanced technologies, such as Nightvision, a rear obstacle detection system, a vertically-anchored tire and wheel system, rear vision cameras, and a mobile multimedia information and entertainment system.

Using globally-linked 3D technology, GM recently presented nine additional innovative concept vehicles simultaneously to international media representatives in Detroit, Rüsselsheim, Tokyo and Melbourne. The new concept vehicles will be premiered at four motor shows in the USA and Europe at the beginning of next year. GM's focused concept vehicle efforts illustrate the innovation and reach the company is putting into its future product plan around the world.