The Opel/Vauxhall Insignia has been chosen as the 2009 European Car of the year, beating out Ford’s all new Fiesta by a single point. The result is the closest such in the past eight years, when the Ford Mondeo was beaten by the Alfa Romeo 147. The Insignia received 20 first place votes and 321points from the jury of automotive writers, while the Fiesta garnered 19 votes and 320 points. Volkswagen’s new Golf ran third with 223 points, while the Citroen C5, Alfa Romeo MiTo, and Skoda Superb were fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively.

NextAutos’ Reader Tim was the first to respond with the correct answer in the contest post we published last week, and will be on the receiving end of a fabulous NextAutos//Winding Road gift package! (Ok, it’s mostly tee-shirts and stuff, but hey, still free.) Thanks for playing!

Check out the full press release below.

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We learn something new every day, most of the time regarding a vehicle (or some piece of one), and often courtesy of the wealth of information contained within the virtual domain of eBay Motors.

Today our lesson was about the most fuel efficient gasoline-powered vehicle in recorded history, at least if this seller’s information is correct, the 1959 Opel P1/T1. The shockingly frugal Opel has owned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for the last 35-years, after traveling just over 376 miles on one gallon of gasoline at an airfield test track in Wood River, Illinois in 1973. The amazing Opel was designed by a team from the Shell Oil Company, and has spent the intervening three decades since its world record run as a permanent member of the Talladega Super Speedway Motorsports Hall of Fame.

The car was built around a 1959 Opel CaraVan, though the bodywork was hugely modified in addition to major changes performed on its four-cylinder push-rod engine. The seller is either unclear or unsure of the reasons behind the car’s superb consumption performance, but he’s much more confident regarding the Opel’s value. A $500,000 Buy It Now price may be a little steep for the casual hypermiler, but we’d hope that a more reasonable sum with find a good home for this historic piece.

+ eBay Motors: 1959 Other Makes Other Guinness Bk

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Opel’s performance division, the Opel Performance Center or OPC, seems to have gotten its hands on the brand new Insignia sedan. Recent spy photographs reveal a new version of the box-fresh Insignia being tested, one that appears to be sleeker, edgier, and more sporting. The triple black car seen here has a revised front end with a more aggressive bumper design and larger air intakes supposedly hiding beneath the camouflage. Not a lot is know about the fast Opel, including whether or not Saturn dealerships may ever get a similar Redline version of the sedan, but there are plenty of images in our gallery above. Read the spy shooter’s brief report below.
 

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Although rumors of delays and even a complete cancellation have circulated about, it seems that the next generation Saturn Aura is on firm ground once again― with some major changes. General Motors vice chairman Bob Lutz confirmed that while the Opel Insignia will share the same suspension and engine with new Aura, the Saturn will have a completely different exterior and interior.

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Carl Peter Forster, GM Europe president and chairman of the Opel Supervisory Board, confirmed in May that Opel would launch two electric vehicles: one based on the Flextreme Concept, and another larger model. Additionally, he has revealed that the first electric model would be built in the U.S. before being shipped over to Europe, which will result in a price tag of up to $15,900 more than the similar gasoline-powered model.

The cars will initially be built in the U.S. because the new Opels will be based off of GM's E-Flex hybrid system, which will be first released to the public via the Chevrolet Volt in late 2010. The Opels on the other hand, are scheduled to hit the market sometime in 2012. GM is planning to eventually produce the E-Flex models in Germany later on, and this delay is so that the high initial costs of the technology can be driven down, giving consumers time to adjust.

The Opel electric models, Astra, Chevy Volt, and upcoming Cruze will all use the Delta II platform. That said, it is entirely possible that GM could include the Volt in its European lineup.

+ Motor Authority: First Opel electric cars to be built in U.S

Though Smart has temporarily stolen the budding North American city-car headlines, some people find the ForTwo too minicar-ish. Those people might be more inclined to go for this new small car, but unfortunately for them it is not available in the U.S.

No, it’s not the Saturn Flextreme, it’s the Opel Meriva. This Euro-only car won’t be utilizing the E-flex powertrain of the Flextreme Concept, but, instead a 1.4-liter turbocharged I-4 motor.

If you mistook this for the Saturn (or Opel) Flexstream concept, you're forgiven. As wild as the Flexstream's styling was, the Meriva attempts to apply its design language to a more production-intent vehicle.

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The Geneva Motor Show may allow automakers the chance to celebrate their latest and greatest offerings or idea cars, but for German tuner Irmscher, it marks a celebration of their heritage. 2008 marks the 40th anniversary of the firm's existence, and to celebrate four decades of tuning mostly Opels, Irmscher brought two mean examples - a slick-looking Opel Antara (Saturn Vue in North America) SUV and a racy V-8 powered Opel GT (aka Saturn Sky).