A city car called Adam 08 | 05 | 2012

CAR NAMES ARE often the subject of ridicule: so welcome to Vauxhall's new city car … the Vauxhall Adam.

Due to be revealed in full at the Paris Motor Show in September, Vauxhall says it has chosen Adam because it is universal, short, robust and technical: right, if you say so.

Perhaps more, significantly, Adam is also the name of Vauxhall sister company Opel’s founder. The firm this year celebrates 150 years since Adam Opel founded the company in 1862.

Set to go head-to-head with the Fiat 500, Volkswagen Up! and Ford Ka, it will be 3.7 metres long (similar to a Mini Hatch) and seat four people.

Prices for the newcomer, which will go on sale in Scotland later this year, are expected to start around £10,000. First d eliveries are expected early 2013.

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And in keeping with the approach first set by Mini, then copied by Fiat with the 500, Vauxhall admits there will be a major emphasis on the ability to personalise the car. Not only will there be a wide range of both interior and exterior colours, but there will also be a number of other features where buyers can make their Adam unique.

“It is a trendy car, but not a cheap car,” Alain Visser, former GM vice president, sales, marketing & aftersales Europe, and now Global Marketing Vice President at sister brand Chevrolet, said last year.

“It will be a premium small car that will have potential with user-choosers. This is the fastest growing segment in Europe.”

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Jim McGill