GM (General Motors) does not build many cars like the GM Epsilon platform: a 2-door Convertible / 4-door Sedan/Saloon / 5-door Hatchback/Liftback / 5-door Station wagon/Estate/Caravan / 5-door Multi-purpose vehicle with Petrol engine, built from 2002 in the decade of stability control, dual-clutch gearboxes and the first serious hybrids.
The story
Epsilon is General Motors' mid-size front-wheel drive automobile platform. The architecture was a multi-division project of GM North America, Opel and Saab, and debuted in the 2002 Opel Vectra and 2003 Saab 9-3. Since this platform falls squarely in the center of the worldwide automobile market, GM plans to produce a great many Epsilon vehicles with over a dozen variations.
As of 2005, it was GM's highest volume worldwide platform. Even after the dissolution of the GM/Fiat partnership, both companies retain the rights to continue developing Epsilon-derived models. A total of 16 different models have made use of the GM Epsilon platform, some of which remain in production 24 years after the platform debuted.
What is underneath
Under the skin sits Petrol engine; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Its place in the line
Where it sits in GM (General Motors)'s history is not in doubt: the GM N platform / GM2900 platform / GM W platform / GM G platform / GM Zeta platform came before it; the GM VSS-F followed it. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Porsche Cayenne, the Honda Accord, the Citroën C3. Nearby in the GM (General Motors) catalogue sit the 1955 Chevrolet and the 1957 Chevrolet.