The first Epsilon-based car, the Opel Vectra, had its debut in Europe this spring.
Remember the mediocre Cadillac Catera and Saturn L-series, both jointly developed with Germany's Opel?
This is where GM might get the most benefit for Opel, its troubled European unit.
It was designed mostly in Europe by Opel engineers but will be sold in 75 countries.
That is just as well, because nothing short of a revolution can rescue Opel.
Weak car sales across Europe are making Opel's recovery particularly challenging, according to industry observers.
Opel, which carries the Vauxhall badge in the UK, has been losing money for 13 years.
Canadian car parts maker Magna International last week agreed to buy Opel and Vauxhall.
Opel employs 3, 300 people at the Bochum plant, though some jobs might be saved.
"Despite rigorous efforts, there was no success in changing the situation, " Opel said in a statement.
Now, Ford could end up in worse shape than Opel, at least in the short term.
Opel does the basic engineering work globally for GM's compact cars and midsize family sedans.
It would be difficult for GM to quickly assemble Opel's engineering know-how, says Robinet.
There are sound business plan arguments for an Opel-Magna-Sberbank arrangement or for the new, old GM-Opel partnership.
In Germany, 52% of the vehicles GM's Opel brand sells go to customers who have ordered them.
However, she hinted that taking a direct stake in Opel was not a priority for the government.
Jiangling Motors' Landwind, which spectacularly failed European crash tests last year, is a copy of Opel's Frontera.
Opel would like to become fully independent of GM, but it will need taxpayer money to stay alive.
General Motors, the parent of both Opel and Buick, knew better than to mess with a good thing.
Epsilon could determine the fate of five of General Motors' car divisions: Chevrolet, Opel, Pontiac, Saab and Saturn.
Opel would have made Fiat stronger in Europe, but the Chrysler merger will make it a global force.
Already, there has been a chorus of dissent over the prospect of Opel being singled out for help.
Opel has decided it needs to reduce its manufacturing capacity in Europe, having lost money 12 years running.
Canadian car parts maker Magna was chosen by General Motors earlier this month to buy Opel and Vauxhall.
Its main European business, Opel, and its UK brand Vauxhall, will not be affected by the bankruptcy protection move.
However, the fresh investment is not expected to revive Opel's fortunes anytime soon.
Magna plans to inject between 500m and 700m euros into Opel - none of which would go to GM.
Above all, ministers want assurances that no German taxpayer money will be used to bail out Opel's US parent.
That same protectionist stance underlies the market-divvying arrangements that characterize the Opel spinoff.
Mr Forster also wants to spruce up Opel's dilapidated product range, to which he added a new Vectra this week.
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