GM’ british arm Vauxhall is celebrating the retail launch of the all-new 2010 Vauxhall Astra. The first customers today received the keys to their cars.

In Great Britain, the new Astra hatchback is available with five petrol engines ranging from an 87 h.p. 1.4-litre to a 1.6-litre turbocharged unit, while diesels span from 1.7 CDTi to 2.0 CDTi form. Prices will start from £15,675.

The Vauxhall said that British plant will build the new Astra for all European markets.

British Vauxhall sold more than 900 police Astras in the UK last year. Police departments throughout the UK will be able choose from three ‘high visibility’ livery options -half, three-quarter or full. The police-spec Astras are equipped with LED lightbars that available in three different widths, while all PTT (Push-to-talk) 999 and at-scene functions have been incorporated into the steering wheel.

The police Astra can be ordered with all communication equipment already installed along with a large 8.4-inch mobile data terminal screen incorporated into the dashboard.

Look at the first official photos of the estate version of Opel Insignia OPC. The Opel Insignia OPC station wagon, a.k.a. Sports Tourer, shares the same mechanical underpinnings with the four-door sedan. It comes with a four-wheel drive chassis mated to a 2.8-liter V6 equipped with a twin-scroll turbo cranking out 325 horsepower and 400Nm or 295-lbs/ft of torque.

Insignia OPC Sports Tourer give a zero to 60mpg (96km/h) sprint time of 6.0 seconds, or 0.2 seconds slower than the OPC sedan, the estates top speed is electronically governed at 250km/h or 155mph.

The Insignia Sports Tourer OPC catch a new front fascia with tear-like air scoops at both corners, side skirts and a redesigned rear bumper that integrates the chromed exhaust pipes.

The Opel Insignia OPC Sports Tourer will arrive to Europe showrooms this autumn.

GM’s UK Special Vehicles division designed the all-new police specification version of the Vauxhall Insignia. The new police Insignia will available with all body styles – sedan, liftback and the Sports Tourer estate (look at pictures). Police car will equipped with 2.0-litre 220HP turbo or a 2.8-litre 260HP petrol engine and all-wheel drive, or a 160PS 2.0 CDTi diesel with front-wheel drive.

The Police-spec Vauxhall Insignia comes equipped with all of the usual patrol car knickknacks including Mobile Data Terminal (MDT) cameras, Automatic Numberplate Recognition (ANPR) system, roof lightbar with 360 blues, side alley lamps, sirens and full comms radio equipment.

Vauxhall is planning a small urban car. Inspired by the clever Trixx concept, described as a 3-plus-1 seater, the model is aimed at the Toyota iQ and the upcoming Volkswagen Up!

The Vauxhall Trixx will be based on GM’s Voltec drivetrain but will completely eschew the range-extended 1.4-liter engine in favor of going fully electric with a goal of hitting a 90-mile range between charges.

The new Vauxhall is on track to achieve 90 miles between top-ups – making it perfect for city drivers, but that may not actually be the case. The lithium ion battery pack powering the Trixx could cost as much as £8,000 ($12,100) per unit to make. To counteract the high cost of entry, Vauxhall may sell the actual car while offering a separate lease for the battery.

Vauxhall, Opel’s British division, has introduced a new eco-friendly Insignia, developed for UK market only. The Vauxhall Insignia ecoFLEX is powered by a 2.0-liter CDTi diesel unit that produces 160 housepowers. This is the same engine used in the standard 2.0 CDTi model, that include improved aerodynamics and the use of low resistant tires, the ecoFLEX achieves a combined fuel economy figure of 54.7mpg UK (5.2lt/100km), or 10 percent improvement over the 2.0 CDTi.

The new Insignia ecoFLEX can achieve a top speed of 135mph or 217km/h, while the 0-60mph (96km/h) sprint takes 8.9 seconds.

The new Vauxhall Insignia ecoFLEX will be available in five-door hatch and four-door saloon versions and in all trim levels apart from SRi. Prices start from £19,600.

The all-new Opel Insignia OPC will be equipeed with a 325-horsepower 2.8-liter turbocharged V6 engine and an adaptive four-wheel drive system with an electronic rear limited slip differential. Opel claims that its Insignia OPC reaches a top speed of 250 km/h and sprints from 0 to 100km/h in six seconds The Opel Insignia OPC (Vauxhall Insignia VXR) will make its debut on May 7 at the Barcelona Motor Show.

Look at the first official photos of all-new Opel / Vauxhall Astra. The new Opel’s five-door hatch will make its debut at the Frankfurt motor show in September. Opel also plans to develope the Astra’s GTC version and Estate.

The new Astra’s exterior will look like small Insignia with details such as the shape of the headlamps, the roofline and the concave surfacing on the doors all pointing towards the larger Opel.

The Astra’s interior is heavily inspired from the Insignia with the dashboard featuring four deeply positioned instrument dials in front of the driver and a swoopy central console with an elevated lower part.

The 2010 Opel Astra will be available with diesel and gasoline units including GM’s an all-new 1.4-liter turbocharged petrol engine that will be offered with outputs ranging from 120 hp to 140 hp.

The 2010 Opel Astra will arrive to Opel’s showrooms across Europe by the end of the year, while the GTC coupe and the Estate variants should follow by mid-2010.

Each dealer would pay 150 euros into the fund from profits on each Opel’s car they sell over the next 3 years in return for a stake in a Opel company.

GM Europe is asking European governments for help to finance a 3.3 billion euro cash shortfall. The OPel has said it is open to discussions on partnerships or equity positions.

Opel’s dealers have 125,000 employees and they are responsible entrepreneurs who want to preserve these jobs as well as their investments.

Opel’s British daughter, Vauxhall, has announced a new line of accessories for the new Opel’s Insignia sedan and estate. Customers can choose between two different aerodynamic packages for the Insignia, the in-house designed VXR styling kit comprising of a rear spoiler, front lower spoiler, rear skirt, and side sills and one from Irmscher that includes a cross hatch grille, front lower spoiler, rear wing spoiler, side sills and rear bumper sports inserts , plus 18 inch “Turbo Star” alloy wheels.

Also available range from velour carpet mats at £40.08 and a set of tailored mudflaps at £73.38 to an aluminium base carrier to securely locate roof-mounted equipment such as mountain bikes, windsurf boards and skis, and a 450 litre roof box for extra luggage capacity.