2011 Opel Astra Sports Tourer

The new Opel Astra Sports Tourer brings style, practicality and eco-friendly technology to the compact wagon segment, giving owners the flexibility to combine professional and private use in one vehicle.

Sharing the same Opel design DNA and Sports Tourer name as its larger Insignia counterpart, the Opel Astra Sports Tourer also introduces a similar focus on first class quality and functionality. The sculpted shape encapsulates a cabin with all the widely-acclaimed attributes of the Astra hatchback, while adding an ample cargo carrying capability. Space-efficient trunk design, enabling an impressive load volume of up to 1,550 liters, is complemented by smart, upscale features such as the new FlexFold Rear Seats - a system which folds the rear seatbacks at the touch of a button.

The Opel Astra Sports Tourer's athletic looks are backed by an equally athletic driving experience. The new wagon shares the same innovative rear suspension and mechatronic FlexRide chassis as its hatchback peer. Other class leading features such as AFL+ adaptive forward lighting and medically-approved ergonomic front seats add comfort and safety to the driving fun on offer.

A wide powertrain choice of nine fuel-efficient engines provides a bandwidth from 70 kW/95 hp to 132 kW/180 hp. Fuel-saving Start/Stop technology will be first introduced on the 1.3 CDTI engine (70 kW/95 hp) early next year, resulting in CO2 emissions as low as 109 g/km.

2011 The Opel Astra GTC 2270

Is your car the gayest? Wheels24, a South African website spent 3 weeks running a poll to vest the "Alternative Car of the Year" title. After furious voting online, Wheels24 divulged the 3 new car models that wowed auto crowd the most. From there, the gayest and straightest cars were named.

At the finish line is the vivacious Peugeot 207, which was named the "gayest car." Next to it is the muscular Audi RS4, which was tagged the "straightest car." Alfa Romeo Brera was also awarded the "rear of the year" title.

The chosen cars for the three categories were all launched this year. Since said campaign was an instant success, Wheels24 decided to make it an annual event. Visitors of said website can vote for their favorite newly released cars to make them one of the most popular in the auto industry.

The Alternative Car of the Year campaign was conducted in cooperation with Road Angel Navigator, SA's premier in-car global positioning system (GPS). Said campaign has recorded more than 16 000 votes.

On the gayest car title, Peugeot 207 got 7155 votes, BMW 3 Series Coupe with 3378 votes, Jaguar XK with 2571, Honda Civic Hatch 1776, and Alfa Romeo 159 with 1293 votes. These cars are designed to capture the fetishes of car owners who wanted no less than striking, sleek and stylish cars that are worthy of every person's attention. Gay cars are curvaceous and atypical. This is the reason why they are loved by artsy aficionados.