Opel Adam to Come to U.S. as a Buick?

Chrysler offers the Fiat 500. MINI offers the Cooper. Could Opel's Adam be the next upscale A-segment vehicle for the U.S.?

The Truth About Cars is reporting that Opel Chairman Karl-Thomas Neumann told reporters at the Frankfurt Motor Show that GM is considering selling the Adam in the U.S. as a Buick. Now if you'll remember, Buick recently started selling the Encore—a small SUV-ish like creature based on the Chevrolet Sonic platform. It's selling pretty well. Chevrolet has proven that the A-segment can indeed be successfully sold in the U.S., as witnessed by the higher-than-expected sales of the Spark.

So is there room in the U.S. for the Adam? I'd like to think so. I think the car looks great. It's got a bit of retro to it without being a MINI, Fiat, Beetle, or other retro ride, but still looks modern and attractive. GM could slot it under the Encore, and perhaps attract a younger demographic to the brand. The Buick brand does seem to be edging towards the less stodgy side in recent years (the new Regal GS, for example, is quite rewarding to drive), and the aforementioned Encore helps to erase the association of elderly blue-haired women and the Buick Century.

I'd love to see the Adam sold here eventually. It won't happen for a while, as apparently Neumann says the current Adam could not be federalized. But perhaps in the next few years we'll see another cool subcompact hit the U.S. market, and it might be wearing a Buick badge.