Opel: They were in the U.S. a long time, and you may not have known it
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- Опубликовано: 15 дек 2023
- Welcome to Auto Chatter! Todays discussion is about Opel in America. This German Brand wasnt always sold here under their own name, but it doesnt mean we didnt get our fair share of them for many decades! Join me for a tale that begins in the 1800's through today about Opel!
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As an old fart I remember the Buick/ Opel dealers, and seeing some Rekords on the road 😎I did know the GM Opel and Isuzu connection and that Opel had some rebadged cars here but I never knew that the threads intertwined this much- great research you've done 👍The old Opel GT was a great looking car, but to American tastes it was woefully slow compared to any muscle car. Maybe folks here didn't understand the GT concept but Europeans did. Opel has had some really good cars but we never got them here as GM wanted folks to buy the crap they made here instead which IMHO was a bad marketing decision for them, proven by the Japanese invasion which took over that market segment while GM struggled to compete when they could have been well-established there already 🙁 I doubt that Stellantis will revive the brand as that would directly compete with Fiat which is their major brand worldwide, but stranger things have happened. Thanks for another great episode!
My dad had a 75 manta and an opel gt back in the day around 1983 to 85 the manta was a cheap car and a daily for him then
Thank you again! I did some research for this one, but it wasnt as extensive for me as you may think because of past vids ive done with the Chevette , Isuzu, and other GM models. This was a fun story to tell with some of the twists and connections! Its REALLY blown up in views compared to my usual, so I couldnt be happier!
@justinwhite9689 I haven't seen a Manta in person in a LONG time.
@@autochatter You deserve the success 👍
@P_RO_ It's just weird..Finished this one. Gave it a official watch...and thought...Yeah I think it came out good, but will people care about the topic?
As an automotive tech, I worked on Opels back in the early seventies. It seems that they stayed in the shop more than on the road. Didn't seem to have a high level of reliability, but sure were fun to drive.
I have no personal experience with how often those older Opels required your services. I've owned several aircooled VWs, and they need some love every now and then. But the parts were cheap and the cars were simple. The Cadillac Caterra and Saturn L series had their share of issues I saw firsthand!
I beg to differ. I have a ‘74 Manta and it’s far more reliable than contemporary domestic cars.
@@Rfk1966 I think your the first to comment that currently owns a classic Opel!
Mechanically rock solid in the later 70s and 80s from what I've seen but with a blip heading into the 90s, eg when they replaced the Rekord with the Omega. The rust proofing was sub-par tho, same with Vauxhall
My parents had a '66 Kadett wagon, which seemed like a good car at first, but only fetched $50 after 3 and a half years of unreliable starting, clutch linkage failures and a little body damage. I've heard that these were considered solid cars in other countries, so it's quite possible that much of its troubles were due to indifferent support from GM and its Buick dealers.
That's possible. I could only imagine how the average Buick Tech then would have reacted when one of those "Opels" came in....Muttering about having to buy metric tools LOL.
My mom had a 73 opel manta. The blue one with the black hood. We LOVED it. My dad traded it for a country squire wagon😢. Idk why
Because it held more groceries? Lol
One Opel that would have made a splash here was the Diplomat, a mid-sized executive sedan with a Chevy V8 and a nearly independent Di-Dion rear suspension. Cadillac wanted to use it as the basis for the '76 Seville, but chickened-out due to exchange rates and the cost of meeting U.S. regulations. I would think if they imported the body shell, with suspension already installed, but installed the interior, drivetrain, and any Cadillac-specific trim in Detroit, the car would not have been too expensive. It's still an open question whether Cadillac buyers were really ready for a Euro-sedan, so the "international size" reworked Nova with the look and feel of a shrunken Fleetwood might well have been GM's more profitable option for the Seville.
The Nova based Seville did well and I suspect many were not aware of its more pedestrian origins then. Exchange rates aside, if they used the Diplomat it may have been overkill for Caddy at the time! So I agree 100%.
Good information, and accurate. I love driving my 1970 Opel GT (with a 2.2L engine and a 5-speed manual), and I'll have it until the day I leave this planet!
Thank you! Cool car!
Very well done! One point, though, is that the 1900 sedan was sold through the 1975 model year. I bought a new yellow 1975 1900 (same yellow as the Manta in this video). It was a mechanical twin to the Manta, of course, and it was my 1st fuel-injected car. It went almost 200K miles, and it was overall a treat to own & drive. I sort of stuck with Opel in spririt,, as my daily driver is a 2003 Saturn LW200, with 223K miles. When I was on vacation in Ireland in 2005, I rented a 1st generation Opel Zafira MPV and liked it. I later read that GM had considered building a version of the Zafira (probably the 2nd gen) and badging it as a Saturn. If that had happened, I might have also bought 1 of those.
Ahh..I thought the sedan went away here sooner. My bad..Thank you for giving it a watch and the praise! Other than Opel GTs, 70s Opels here were somthing I never really saw. Was your Saturn the 4 cylinder one? I saw quite a few of those with some high miles.
As an European its always funny to see how non Europeans see our homegrown historic brands.
VW and Opel (Vauxhall in the UK) on this side of the pond are like Ford and Chevrolet in the USA.
VW and Opel always fought for place nr 1 in the sales charts for decades.
GM blew it on an astronomic scale and had to leave Europe entirly.
Now we are entering the EV age and all bets are of.
Wich carmanufacture will survive depends on its capacity to innovate/reform.
Mergers and the demise of manufactures is inevitable this and/or next decade.
Thank you for sharing this! I hope I didn't do Opel a disservice!
My Army buddy in 1973 had an Opel Manta. It was a very nice car for the time. Sporty, economical, and comfortable for four adults. I would love to restore one but they just don't exist anymore.
I haven't seen a Manta since the 90s.
Great job on the editing and the background music was 👌
The images were great and the footage and storytelling was great. Very informative chatter as per usual!
Thank you! This one blew up for sure!
My dad bought my sister an Opel in 1968. A few years later, my brother (when he was 18) bought an Opel GT. Nice cars.
That's pretty cool. As far as 60s or 79s Opels go, I've been around Opel GTs more than anything else.
Excellent video. Well stated. I am sure someone said you missed the Buick Verano which was a Opel. The Holden Commodore/Calais/Caprice/Statesman used the platform from the Opel Omega. It was modified and changed for Australia. Several Holdens came to the United States. Vauxhall eventually became Opels over time.
Ty..Yeah didn't even get into the Holden/Opel connections. I believe the Commodore used the Omega/Caterra platform as well? And the Verano....Good catch! Seems like Vauxhalls were whatever over the years..They had rebadged Isuzu Rodeos at one time too!
@@autochatter The Commodore/Calais/Statesman/Caprice used the Omega platform. There were many variations of the Holden globally.. I know the earlier Holden Commodores used the Opel Rekord platform. I recall the Vauxhall based Isuzus. Opel had and Holden did too.
Yup, wanted to mention the Verano too. I actually drive one, a very rare right hand drive Astra J sedan. Opels have a loyal fan base here in South Africa.
@@Rouxenator Thank you for sharing.
@Rouxenator LOL..when I was working on this one, I kept getting this thought in my head that I was missing another Opel disguised as a Buick! OLDS98 was kind enough to point out my ommision.
This video is doing very well! Super happy for you man🤝
I know right! What the heck is going on???? LOL. Thank you! Already watched your new one if you haven't read the comment yet.
@@autochatter Not yet, I’ll check it out right now!
I cannot fathom why (other than being in the works since before the Stellantis merger) the Dodge Hornet is based on the Alfa Tonale rather than the Opel Mokka B, which looks different enough from the Mokka A that was such a sleeper hit for GM as the Buick Encore.
Not sure...Maybe they had to eventually let go of the GM involved platforms?
My parents had an Opel Kadett B coupe when I was just a little one in the 1970's. Despite being so little, I remember it and thought it was a cute car. I heard it was fun to drive, but it didn't last long.
That's cool! I have no hands on with any of those 60s or 70s Kadetts myself. I'm not even sure how many GM brought over.
Love your videos - always interesting and amusing. Keep em coming!
Thanks! Means alot to hear that!
There wouldn't be any more Opels in disguise in the future. The Opels in Europe are now Peugeots underneath. Even Toyota's are not even Toyota's in Europe any more. The vans like the Proace is a rebadged Peugeot Expert. So as all the vans of Opel right now. those vans, we can now buy at 5 brands; Opel, Peugeot, CItroën, Toyota and Fiat. When PSA (Now Stellantis after merging with Fiat) took Opel and Vauxhall over from GM, they make sure that they quickly renewd the brands with their own technology, so they wouldn't be dependend on GM for to long.
I have two 4-door sedans from Opel, both build in Belgium, where I live. A 1989 Opel Kadett E 1.3S and its succesor, a 1997 Opel Astra F 1.4i.
Yeah...Not surprised Stelantis is doing that.
Always look learning sumthing.
Thank you for this video.
I owned a 1970 Opel GT when I was in High school .
1980 it was alot fun but because I was 17 ,I pretty much destroyed it.
I went and looked at a used one few months ago.
Thank you! I had it on my radar and your recent post on the Celica inspired me! There was a guy in my hometown that had two Opel GTs in his driveway ....up till about 10 years ago anyway LOL.
OMG your suggestion has proven very popular! Got anymore??? 😆
I thought that the early '00's Pontiac was a rebadged Holden?
Well it was....Holden and Opel were owned by GM..The GTo was a Holden Monaro...And was built on a platform Opel originally designed. There was Opel influence in Holdens too, but I didn't get into that.
My dad back in 79 bought a 74 Opel model 51 or 54 which was a 2 door sedan model that looked like a Mercedes Benz. It had a 3 speed automatic with a 1900 4 cylinder. No fuel injection tho
I can't believe how fast they disappeared in the U.S. Other than a handful of Opel GTs, I haven't seen Mantas or Buick Opels in forever.
I learned to drive on a 1972 Opel 1900, a green one.
I've only driven one of these, and it was in the 90s.
The Pontiac GTO was not based on an Opel. it was a rebadged Holden Monaro, Australian designed and manufactured in Australia, whilst the Commodore may have had it's roots as an Opel, by then it was no way related to any production Opels, it utilised a GM LS engine and either GM manual or auto gearbox, suspension was Australian designed ad manufactured. The only reason the Pontiac GTO and Chevy SS (another Australian built car) failed in the USA was because of incompetence at GM headquarters
I'm well aware it was a rebadged Holden. What I said was the V PLATFORM was originally based off a Opel design. The GTO and Opel Omega/Cadillac Caterra then were some of the last vehicles to use it. I was only speaking of the "roots" as you put it. Yeah it was sad how the GTO was handled here. I don't think it helped that the styling resembled a 90s Cavalier too much and the first year buyers got gimped with the 5.7 liter engine. The Chevy SS wasn't even advertised really, so alot of people just didn't know about it. I think they were cool cars too. I had thoughts about getting one when they were new, but couldn't find a 6MT . Last I checked, used ones are priced way up there still.
When you read about it there's always this vague description that Holden based the Commodore on the Omega but at the same time changed it substantially. To the extent that the powertrains, dimensions, and interiors are all different. I think if they had changed the styling more the two would be considered different cars altogether. An Omega/Catera and Commodore/Monaro/GTO are two different things that happen to look a lot like each other.
My dad loved opels we had a handful of them we had a red 65 kadet l wagon and a white one in 67 he had to work on them all the time
I'm not sure myself how reliable those 60s Opels were. Or if parts were cheap or not. Growing up, I didn't see any of them....Besides the occasional Opel GT.
They were pretty reliable if you kept up with the maintenance he swore by them we went everywhere in ours
@@evdallas123 My Dad had Beetles when I was very young.
@@autochatter we had a 70 beetle he loved that thing too I took my driver's license test in it
@@evdallas123 The last Dune buggy I had started life as a 70 Beetle. One of Dads Bugs was the dreaded Autostick.
I saw a Caterra last night.
Can't be many of them left
I had a '73 GT. I loved that car and I still occasionally boot my own butt for selling it. Mine was the only GT I've seen with an automatic transmission. Sure wish I would've kept it.
I imagine that was a rare option.
I had a 2008 Astra as a Saturn Astra.
Didn't see many of them but they seemed like decent cars.
I like the Opel Corsa B chevy kinda looks like a Geo Metro
LOL..Yeah it kinda does!
Now new Opel Movano is the same as Dodge Ram van,Dodge city ram is the same as Opel Combo.
My dad had a 74 manta in 83 it was a good car had a moon roof
Cool! I haven't seen a Manta on the road in forever!
The first year Opels in the US may have the worst marketing ever, you would have no idea what dealer to take them to for service as they were the Buick Opel by Isuzu!
It had to be strange!
The opel omega was competitor to
the BMW series 5 not 3 series
The Opel Manta B was never sold in the US.
Makes sense as it started in 75 after the Manta wasn't sold here any longer. Did I have a image of a Manta B somewhere by accident?
It is pronounced “Opel” with the accent on the second syllable and with a short “E” sound. Not like the gemstone.
Thank you for the correction. I've been saying it wrong all this time!
IHG.....RUclips interrupting a video mid-word for an ad guarantees I will blacklist that "product" being hawked.
Sorry..I didn't place the ad breaks.
Why couldn't opel just be called Chevrolet in Europe? Ford sells cars under their own name in Europe.
Opel had brand recognition in Europe. I was watching a Ed's Auto Reviews recently and he mentioned Chevrolet isn't even in Europe anymore....Except Corvette..
Also, Opel was already there. GM bought Opel and Vauxhall to sell cars in Europe.
@@johnnymason2460Well said.
Some Chevys here are Daewoo, some Suzuki.
Because Opel was already a well-established marque with a good reputation.
Never mind your French pronunciation. The way you say Renault and Celica hurts my ears. I was waiting for you to say kneesan.
I'm Southern LOL...and Renault is French too. Are you from across the pond? I've seen enough Top Gear episodes that they pronounced the Toyota selika or somthing like that.
Ireland. We would say Renault like renno without the emphasis on the nault part. It's hard to explain via text. Selleeka.
@elemar5 The Top Gear trio also pronounced Nissan as...Nissin to me..Except Jeremy Clarkson who said Datsun LOL. Obviously as a mild insult. I get how your saying Celica...Its like how they did. Just a little warning...I'm doing a "kneesan" next ;) I have a bit of a fascination with different pronunciations..Like alluminimum!