Hideo Kodama (born 1944) is a Japanese automobile designer.
He was born in Yokohama, the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture, and in the Greater Tokyo Area. As a boy, he had often painted pictures of cars. [1]
He studied at Tama Art University in Tokyo, studying in the Industrial Design department. He graduated in 1966. [2]
Seeing little opportunity for automotive designers in his native Japan at the time, he opted instead to join Adam Opel AG at Rüsselsheim am Main in Germany in 1966. [3] This became the General Motors Europe subsidiary in 1986. The design studio had opened in 1964. He worked in Rüsselsheim with the main designer Erhard Schnell, and George Gallion, the deputy chief designer. By the early 1980s, he was Chief Designer, working with the designer Chris Bangle from 1981-85. [4]
In 1992, he became Chief Designer for the second generation Corsa, known as the Corsa B. This car was launched in April 1993 in the UK, and four million were sold around the world. [3] [5] Kodama was also responsible for the design of the next generation Corsa, the Corsa C. [6] His design for the Agila was built from 2000; the later models of that vehicle ceased production in 2014. He left General Motors Europe in 2004. [1] [2]
He lives in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. [2]
Opel Automobile GmbH, usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Group prior to its merger with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to form Stellantis in 2021. Most of the Opel lineup is marketed under the Vauxhall brand in the United Kingdom since the 1980s. Some Opel vehicles were badge-engineered in Australia under the Holden brand until 2020, in North America and China under the Buick, Saturn, and Cadillac brands, and in South America under the Chevrolet brand.
Chevrolet, colloquially referred to as Chevy, is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM).
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Gamma is General Motors' global subcompact front-wheel drive automobile platform, first used in the 2000 Opel Corsa C.
Wayne Kent Cherry is an American car designer educated at Art Center College of Design and employed by General Motors from 1962 through 2004, retiring as Vice President of Design. Cherry worked for General Motors in the United States from 1962 until 1965, when he moved to the United Kingdom to take a position with General Motors' Vauxhall Motors subsidiary, becoming Design Director at Vauxhall in 1975. In 1983, General Motors consolidated all European passenger car design under Cherry and made him Design Director at General Motors' Adam Opel AG subsidiary. Cherry returned to the United States in 1991 and in 1992 became General Motors Vice President of Design. Cherry retired from General Motors in 2004.
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Martin Smith is a British retired automobile designer, noted for extensive stints at Audi, Opel and Ford of Europe.
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General Motors India Private Limited was a subsidiary of General Motors for its operations in India. General Motors had 93% stake in this partnership and the remaining 7% was held by SAIC. It was the 5th largest automobile manufacturing company in India after Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata Motors and Mahindra. After 21 years of operations in India, General Motors ceased selling cars in India by the end of 2017 as a part of its global restructuring actions.
General Motors South Africa (Pty) Ltd , or GMSA, was a wholly owned subsidiary of American automobile manufacturer General Motors. It manufactured and distributed automobiles under the Chevrolet, Opel and Isuzu brands. The deal with Isuzu was approved by the Competition Commission on 27 November 2017. The company was headquartered in Gqeberha, South Africa.
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The automotive industry in Germany, is one of the largest employers in the country, with a labor force of over 857,336 (2016) working in the industry.
The Opel Corsa is a supermini car manufactured and marketed by Opel since 1982 — as well as other brands, namely Vauxhall, Chevrolet, and Holden.
Vauxhall Ellesmere Port is a motor vehicle assembly plant, located in the town of Ellesmere Port, in Cheshire West & Chester, United Kingdom. It has always built small/medium Vauxhall/Opel vehicles, including the Vauxhall Viva and Opel/Vauxhall Astra. It is owned by the global car manufacturer Stellantis.
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