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Buick Reportedly Planning Rebadged 2010 Opel Astra for China

China seems to be the hottest destination nowadays, especially for ailing automakers who are willing to revamp their sales through this apparently healthy market. The last in this row is Buick, General Motors’ over-discussed division that is reportedly planning to hit the Chinese market with a new rebadged model. According to a report by sina.com.cn, the American ailing car giant GM is tempted to launch a rebadged version of the 2010 Opel Astra in the Chinese market and sell it as a Buick.

The reason? Chinese people are in love with Buick, as some officials recently stated, while the upcoming 2010 Astra, together with fuel efficient engines and other advanced features, is expected to cause quite a stir in this particular market. Furthermore, Buick has been recently linked with a move to SAIC, a deal that could bring GM’s brand even closer to Chinese buyers. Nevertheless, General Motors promptly denied reports, explaining that Buick is going to remain a core brand supposed to help the parent company in the tough fight for survival.

Wondering how the Chinese 2010 Opel Astra will look like? Well, the aforementioned source says the model will be basically the same in appearance with its European sibling, obviously with slight differences caused by the rebadging process. Thus, the “Buick Astra”, if there will be one, will have almost the same design, excepting the front fascia that is expected to boast Buick’s very own lines.

The first unofficial photos showing the 2010 Opel Astra surfaced a few days ago along with some new technical details for the European markets. Still, all we have here is still in early speculation stage so we’re waiting for at least an official hint that there might be some truth behind these words.
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About the author: Bogdan Popa
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Bogdan keeps an eye on how technology is taking over the car world. His long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space for his kid’s toys, and convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as their phones.
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