A few news outlets reported last week that Opel will drop the Vectra nameplate when it launches its next-generation midsize sedan.

Jonathan Browning, GM Europe vice president of sales, told The Car Connection that "the replacement vehicle will not be called Vectra. We haven't announced formally the new name - there's been some speculation - but we will be announcing it formally later in the year." The consensus among journalists was that the new model would be dubbed Insignia, but The Hollywood Extra website reports this week that Opel may be leaning towards using the Aura namplate instead. No source was sited in the report, but such a move would help illustrate a more visible alignment between Saturn and Opel, who are collaborating on the design of the new car. Saturn dropped the Ion name in favor of Astra when it decided to bring the Opel compact hatchback stateside, so it makes sense that Opel would do the same with Aura.

What can we expect from the new Saturn-Opel effort? "Let me take you back to the step that the current generation Astra took from the prior one, and the step we took with Corsa, generation to generation," Browning told TCC. "Think about the energy and enthusiasm that the three-door executions [of those cars] created. For me, in terms of the next-generation Vectra, the step we're taking with that car is substantially greater than the steps we took with either the Astra or Corsa." The new model will likely be unveiled next summer at the London Motor Show.

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Source: The Hollywood Extra