The Vauxhall/Opel Omega Story - Bare bones Luxury?!?
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- Опубликовано: 9 мар 2023
- Ford and Vauxhall/Opel were locked in a battle for European car sales in the 1980s and 90s. Any model Ford had, Opel had to match or beat them. Ford had the Granada, | so Vauxhall/Opel launched an expensive onslaught in the 1980s to topple them, hoping to repeat the gains they’d enjoyed with the smaller Astra and Cavalier. Yet by the time their luxury car, the Omega ended production, the Granada was long gone, and Vauxhall and Opel’s parent General Motors was running out of options despite competing with not one but two luxury brands. How did it go so wrong for two car companies that had been on the top of their game?
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My late father always wanted to own a Mercedes. He had to save up money quite a while being a mailman. But back in the days it was still possible to raise a family of four and save some money. Went to a Mercedes dealer for a C-class very excited but was treated patronizing and snooty. We left the dealership and he told me: they think they are better than we are, they’ll not get my money. Went to the Opel dealer, was treated with respect and from that day bought Omegas only, 4 in total if my memory serves me right. I‘ll never buy a Mercedes in honor of my father.
I had this in my first look at up market cars. I just told him what I thought of him and went to another dealership with same brand. No issues and still go there for one of the cars to this day. You get horrible people all over and it's a shame he didn't get to have his merc because of that dealer.
I was treated snootily by a bloody Volkswagen dealer when I came cash in hand. So I went with a Toyota. I am not sure if it is a matter of feeling to good for a customer, after all nobody speaks of car sales people in the same breath as cardiac surgeons or whatever. I think they just get bored and get a kick out of being nasty to a customer once in a while
Good man. He held his name above everything and everyone. And good son for honouring his father. I have heard such stories from Mercedes and BMW wannabe clients not in the UK but in Germany itself, from Germans, and I mean not just citizens but ethnic Germans themselves. I can understand that sometimes the employees are hassled by people who just want to look at the cars, so why don't they just let the people have a look at their cars, that is why they have them on display. If the people approach them to ask questions that is precisely because they are interested in buying one. People take their time when buying a new car even if it is a 13K Skoda Fabia, let alone a C-class Mercedes. So why on earth wouldn't they want to spend some time with the clients talking to them to guide them through? If anything when middle class people want so much to buy a Mercedes that is a huge bonus for Mercedes since its sales expand to a class of people to whom these cars are normally not meant to be sold at. If anything salespeople should appreciate more such clients. Or do they think that such clients risk "debasing the name of the company". Mercedes is not Ferrari. Even Lamborgini sells to anyoen with the cash to buy it, so why wouldn't Mercedes? This is a company that sells its cars as taxis next to Opels and Toyotas (not even Lexus, but Toyotas) so what about "debasing the name of the company"?
@@dinos9607maybe the Salesman was an old guy?
I clearly remember the introduction of the 190 series (W201)That car was an engineering marvel. But the press was talking about it being the baby-benz in a bit a condescending way. Implying that it wasn't a proper Mercedes.
In fact it was a high quality car totally worthy of carrying that badge.
Later on it happened again with the A-class. But by that time Mercedes had already surrendered to the corporate penny pitcher. All of the line up had become worse then the generations before (peak Mercedes: W124, W126, W124, W140, W201)
As for GM: they should have learned from Toyota and should have started a totally new luxury brand (like Toyota did with Lexus)
Sounds like some poor person would say making excuses for what they can't afford
I really miss the big Vauxhall and Opel Saloons.
I miss all the old executive cars.
Same here Paulie. I had the Carlton 2.6 GSXi (auto) and it was one of the nicest cars (including a Jaguar XJ6) that I ever had.
Yea but at least you still have the Eldorado with the horn that plays the Godfather theme
I am American so sedans/saloons are basically all we get.
Really don't understand why sedans are as popular as they aren't the trunk seems super restrictive and now the sloping rood significantly cuts head space.
It feels like it's can't decide what it would be.
Storage is better in most hatchbacks, crossovers, and wagons.
If you want a sleek look a coupe makes more sense to me.
I have owned a sedan a loved it. But they really make no sense.
Jeremy Clarkson described them as his favourite limo.
Loads of room in the back for someone of his size.
H said you could arrive at the opening of a store without being so ostentatious as to arrive in a stretch limo or a roller.
Out of 2 million Omega A 2.6 saloon sold in germany only 115 of them are left (in drivable condition). I own one of them..... Everything about the Omega is unique. The sound of the doors, That startermotor has a special sound, even inside the Opel family. The space inside is insane.
Best thing about my car. Its a prototype. Has bits of every model to show the variety of the car....Nothing about that car makes sense. Its a "diamont" body, but with air con(the papers say its black, but its holografic brown), front seats from the 2.0i, leather-steering wheel and rear seats from the 3000, blue panels from the GL, the gray dashboard from the 24V, wooden middelconsole from the Omega Lotus, a white carpet (no idea what model that was), the controlls for the airride ar open inside the trunk(the regular model has it inside a side panel), ....The car was part of the pre-owners family for 25 years. But the father died in 2016 and his wife left the car outside as a memorial. In late 2020 the daughter said, that they had to sell it, "because its still a good car." When i got there, the car was standing outside, under pine trees for four years, never moved an inch. I turned the key and it sprung to life. Ok i had to fix the fuel hose but i could drive it onto the truck. I paid the full price and i was asked but one favour. They said to me "Dont sell the car, make it run and when you do the first ride send us a picture" Last year in summer i did send them the picture. I cant describe that moment, the joy and the tears that family had, knowing there "big one" is going to classic car shows making other people smile. Thats the best part of owning it.
It was a white 1991 Omega Caravan, the facelift model with smoked taillights and the glorious 2.6 Dual Ram engine, in which my driving story started. First around our farm, in 1996 out on public roads. The huge Caravan packed with my mates and all those stupid ideas, only teenagers come up with. Countless nights discovering our world in a boring countryside in Switzerland. The 2.6 Omega seemed much more capable, than 150 PS sound like. Easily chasing other guys hot hatches. And the proudly advertised DSA chassis did what it meant to do. The Omega always brought us back home safely, mates often sleeping in the back. Good memories - I'm so thankful!
The Omega started my driving addiction, still have a white station wagen waiting in my garage.
Errata The Chevrolet Omega in Brazil was assembled there, not imported.
The last Cresta [PC] of 1966 was not based on an Opel but totally Vauxhall designed.
Exactly! Between mid-1992 and early-1998.
Nice fact
Another interesting fact about the Brazilian Omega, is that it also used a fuel injected version of GM's 250 6 cylinder engine (from the 1960's); and it was used after the 3.0 Opel engine was discontinued. As the Omega was still selling well in Brazil and there was no more inline 6 from GM, to be used after the 3.0 was discontinued, GM Brazil asked Lotus to work on the old engine and started using it from 1995 forward. As a result, fuel comsumption worsened, but the car was a little quicker.
On the same basis as the PC, the Holden Commodore was not based on these Opels also. The first ones had to chuck away lots of the weak design of the Opel to get a reasonable car. Still started the drift downwards of Holden dominance of the Australian market. Final rapid nail in the coffin was the near standard use of the Opel Insignia that put sales back to early fifties level. Not good in the much bigger 2018 market.
@@nairongruendling4434 Yep
Omega was one of the most important cars in Brazil. It was the flagship car from Chevrolet from 1993 to 1998. It’s amazing how successful the car was.
The Monza has really aged very well. Still today beautiful to look at
I agree, especially the post-facelift model.
It's actually quite simple to answer the question why Saab didn't use the Omega platform: it was rear-wheel drive, and Saab had always been front-wheel drive. Even the GM management of the time would have recognized that it would have been impossible to sell a rear-wheel drive car as a Saab (plus the notoriously recalcitrant Saab engineering department would proabably have resigned collectively had they been told to develop a RWD car) , so they had to make do with the smaller Vectra platform even for the "big" Saab.
Holden tried out a prototype Commodore using the Saab 4 cylinder turbo engine in RWD configuration in the early 90s which was supposedly quite good but it was eventually killed by internal politics at GM. Well worth a bit of googling to look up the story if you are interested in obscure car history stuff.
What platform was the smaller Saab 9-3 based on?
@@timothyhh also GM2900 (Vectra)
@@timothyhh Cavalier mark III
I wonder how a 95 based on the Alfa 159 (which was a GM platform) would have worked out
Friend was a traffic officer . The one car he loved and rated highly was the 24v 3 litre Senator . 140mph top speed and excellent handling . Very reliable as well . He preferred them to the BMWs that followed
I also used to have a Police friend back in the early 90's and his car of choice was the Senator 24v. He said they handled better than the BMW 5 series of the time. Thames Valley Police also had "Superchips" upgrades to the ECU's on those cars. So maybe 15bhp more than factory.
@@dj_paultuk7052 I put a chip in my Carlton GSi 24v and that gave 15bhp too so I'm guessing it was likely the same chip - very easy DIY swap. Although mine was a "starchip", not a "superchip". Probably the same chip, just different brand names.
I had to road test a few of those before delivering them to Strathclyde Police.
Can confirm that not only were they rapid, they were super nimble and great handling, for such large cars.
@@yips_way Starchip from what i remember was from BBR. Brodie Britain Racing.
I had a Carlton 1.8i as family car for 12 years. Was a beautiful car to drive and for 5 people. Not as underpowered as you would think.
I remember renting one of these in December 2000, it was brand new (3.0 24v), with delivery miles only. We drove it to Andorra and got it stuck on a mountain pass in the snow. We had to abandon it and walk 19 km to the hotel. In the morning we went to retrieve the car but the police had towed it away, once we found out where it was and paid the release fee, they had somehow broken the steering rack! So that was the end of that! 🤣
Sounds like a pretty decent car!
Rear wheel drive so no good in the snow
Hehe. That’s a classic story.
The Holden Commodore Origin car, it sold badly in Europe but was a massive success in Australia.
Sold badly?
These were everywhere here in Holland!
Like all opels in the 80's and 90's
This was the car the Holden Commodore was based on. Holden done a superb job tricking , living to Australians that it was designed and made in Australia and totally an Australian car . Basically the exterior , grill and lights were different. Same floor plan as the opel , built on the same chassis. With a v6 Buick engine imported from the USA. I had a VN and luckily it was stolen ….. horrible car.
Holden Commodore also one of the most unreliable cars in the same class.
@@tng2057 which model was unreliable? I had a VX series 2 wagon and only had the intake seals leak coolant. I also had a VE series 2, and in 144K klm only had the electronic throttle body play up, causing an intermittent misfire...
The Commodore sold so well down under. GM decided to try it in the states as the SS.
I'm a massive Opel fan. Great, honest cars, which did what was asked of them. It always makes me sad to think about that just as they were starting to make money again, GM mercylessly cut them away. And to add an insult to the injury, they sold Opel to one of their biggest rival with quite the opposite philosophy.
Opel only started to make money again after beeing sold to PSA, so Peugeot managed to do that in 18 months what GM couldn't do in 70 years.
@@MrManniG only it's not Opel anymore. Selling rebadged Peugeots doesn't count in my book.
@@MrManniG I bet that would have happened even if GM had kept Opel. The first new model on the PSA age was Corsa in the fall on 2019. I think that it is correct to say that GM sold Opel just as they were getting profitable again.
Opel was luckier than Saab.
I've always loved large saloons and estates and I've always been a fan of Opel. I vividly remember my grandfather's lemon yellow Mk.1 Omega in or around 2003 - it was such a strange experience riding around in one, the car felt as if it was from another time, another century, ancient yet powerful to my child brain. Since then I've grown to love the Omega and I'm planning to find and buy a well taken care of first gen to drive, care for and enjoy. Car was back from a time when Opel was the leader in innovation, efficiency and design, sadly these times are long gone
boring people loved them, family car, saloon? Need practical ugly ?
Leader? In what reality...lol
@@planetcaravan2925 End of the 80th Opel set the benchmark for 4-and inline 6-engines.
C20xe and C30se were the best in class. Of course the poor quality of the chassis leeds to the bad image….but GM did everything to Missmanagements Opel…unbelivable that market entries were restricted..especially growing markets like china.
@@lucasRem-ku6eb arrogant people who dont recognise a brilliant car because of their badge snobbery critisize them in their ignorance ,
Ive owned three of them,the one i still have after ten years ,also own a mercedes w221 ,top notch car ,very comfortable, quiet and fast ,love them both
The Lotus Omega was a stunning car back then. Still looks great today, I might add.
I remember most car magazines around the millenium all warned people to buy used Lotus Omegas as they had a really nasty reputation of being a huge money pit.
@@twobob8585 Yeah, I nearly bought one for £30k but (at the time) to replace my GSi 24v but I thought it was a little pricey, that and the insurance hike at the time compared to the "meagre" £300 I was paying for the GSi. I decided against it mostly due to the stress of it being a likely target for thieves or even being cloned for nefarius reasons, as my GSi had been! - that was fun having the police pop round often to see if my car was damaged as the cloned one had been playing skittles with police cars 😮🤣
If I'd only knew, could have bought it, driven it, stored it, then still made more than triple the money by now 🤣
As Jasper Carrot said, "The Lotus Carlton - the family car for the Fittipaldis"!
It was epic.
Stunning car? Opels always looked bland and boring...
The early Australian Commodore was a heavily reworked amalgamation of the Rekord body with the Senator nose section, done in order to have a smaller car which could accommodate the larger six and eight cylinder engines made by Holden.
Extensive modification and strengthening work had to be carried out in order to allow the car to cope with Australian road conditions. So much so that executives and engineers from Opel were sent, by GM, to Australia to find out why the rework was taking "so long".
When they arrived they were taken for a short drive of only a few hours to experience the roads.
They then understood.
But they still continued making the crap they already had! So everyone was not up to any standard!!
Having owned and worked on Commondores for all of these models they were a poor car with major engineering faults. The engines had a front well oil pan and when the oil got low they seldom had decent oil pressure, The rear well pans on 70s Holdens were far better. Front suspension with pogo sticks were a real issue. And very little suspension adjustability so they ate tyres. They had rack and pinion unlike the Euro cars but the racks were at best fragile and power steer racks generallly leaked. Autos were the Trimatic aka the Traumatic which gradually improved until ist demise in 88 86-88 Commys had a RB30 Datsun engines. V8s still had Traumatics.
Come 88 and we got the supposedly more Aero models, again a very heavily revised Euro pram. With the harsh rattly 3.8 Buick engine and generally decent 4 speed auto from the US. For a few years they were also made with Toyota badges,, and Falcon utes had Nissan Badges. All of this from government brain farts was the start of the end of vehicle manufacturing in Australia. Camrys with Holden badges, Nissans with Ford badges, Suzukis with Holden badges, Ford with Nissan badges etc etc.
We ofcourse than got the front drive Opel with Holden badges,, less popular than Aids and in the end were effectively given to Police Forces to quit stock.
There is 10 times as many Mustangs around than them.
Holden inventing the Commodore by combining a Opel Rekord E body with a Senator A front end is a story often told by australian sources, but I don't think it's true. Opel made V-body Commodores starting all the way back in the late 60's that all had modified front clips to accomodate the trademark i6 cih engines. The third generation Opel Commodore then used the front clip from the now also v-body based Senator range topper. Holden got that car, had to heavily reinforce it for gravel roads, shoved their own drivetrains inside and created an australian icon.
The initial Opel Commodore C was short lived though. Breathing room between the down sized Senator A, the Monza A and higher trim versions of the new fuel injected Rekord E became too small. Opel dicontinued it's last generation Commodore after just a few years and poor sales somewhere in the early 80s. The A and B generation Commodores were much ccoler looking cars anyway, especially the coupes.
@@ldnwholesale8552 rb30 isn't a Datsun engine you clown
@@ldnwholesale8552 my dad's vh commodore ran fine for years, just add petrol and drive ... hardly any servicing required ... tough as old boots
@@ldnwholesale8552 I had a "traumatic" behind my 5.0 VH SLE ... and I gave it a beating ... as you do in your 20's ... even had it on nitrous injection ... I expected it to break ... but it never did .
The Omega A wasn't exported to Brazil. It was actually built in São Caetano do Sul, São Paulo, Brazil, between 1992 and 1998. It's fair to say that initially it had a lot of European parts content. The top trim even used the German C30LE engine until 1994, and the automatics had a French 4L30-E transmission throughout it's market time down here.
I remember! They sold it with a 2.0 engine (GLS) and the German 3.0 (CD). Later they improved the Brazilian 4.1 engine from Opala and put it in the CD version, and sold the remaining 3.0 engine in a special edition called "diamond". After some years they put out a GL version (very standard) and they improve the four cilinder engine to a 2.2. liter. The four cilinder version were slow but they were great! The 4.1 was "the real deal". Nowadays Chevrolet dos not sell anything like that in Brazil. It's a shame.
Do not forget about the OHC Family II 2.0 ethanol fueled engine. At its time it has the most power per litre output 4 cyl., 8 valve, naturally aspirated engine in the world, producing 130HP, of 65Hp per litre. And with colaboration of Bosch engineers, it has an ECU capable of manage the engine even with gasoline instead, making it one of the first flex fuel car in the world. What a CAR, my God!
Nice to know!
This is the most underrated channel on RUclips, not even close!
Saloon so fast it caused the national outrage haha
the 1st gen Omega was actually built in Brazil between 93 and 98 and was (at it's launch) the most advanced car here... we had the 2.0L (96/97 on 2.2), and 3.0 6cyl engines. 96-98 the 3L was replaced by an older inline-6 with 4.1L (but very modernized) from our older Rekord, sold here as Opala.
Nice
My first Opel was a 1987 Opel Ascona that I bought three years old with about 22,000 Miles on the Odometer. Then, soon after, many “Happy memories” of six new Opel Omega cars, (in Ireland), over a nineteen year window, all purchased new from McCormack Car Sales in Sligo. All six Opel Omegas were 2.0 Litre Petrol with manual gearbox. My first was a 1993 Opel Omega A, followed by five Opel Omega B cars for registration years 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000. The last car, was Star Silver, (pre-facelift), and it was with me for twelve years, and had 220,018 Miles when we parted ways in 2012. Of course; my favorite was the first 1993 Opel Omega A, the style had an enduring edge over the B model. On the Omega A; I loved the horizontal line over the rear wheels and the straight vertical style rear profile. In every model that I owned, the seats are remembered as the most comfortable car seat ever experienced. To my mind, the Opel Vectra and Opel Insignia never came close to the standard set by the Opel Omega. Of course; it was almost like the car could talk to me! The noises would let me know about drop links, tie rod ends, bushings etc. needing replacement. Not to mention the infamous Idle Air Stepping Motor issue, then the ever failing Check Straps for the Driver’s Door, and the need to routinely replace the exhaust system. They were great days over hundreds of thousands of Miles!
Im an Opel freak, thanks to my dad’s good taste I grew up in Spain with a Rekord E and Omega A in the garage, always in my heart.
I actually owned a 3.0 12v Gsi Carlton with the digital dash. Think I paid all of £1200 for it. Lots of fun was had. Also props for mentioning the Evolution model as that often gets overshadowed by the Lotus.
My dad had one in red, he loved it, and pronounced Omega like the wristwatch to make it sound more upper class. I just remember it being unreliable, but he loved it, and that’s all that mattered. Great video, thanks for including it.
Wow, You really had an exceptionally bad example. Mine was most reliable car, just an oil change and occasional large service. Had clocked over 500 000 km's on 2 liter petrol. In one Year only far from it being a 10 year old car already I drove alone over 75 000 km without any hitch. It was fast ,reliable, and with low consumption. Only major thing we did to it was fix rear arches that were starting to rust which was a common problem of all Opel cars .
@@idimidodjimi6760 sure, it’s a recollection as a child, the reality may have been quite different, perhaps I was recalling simple things like blown bulbs or similar, but it was an imposing presence on the driveway, cream interior, it felt like a limo.
I got driven in a Lotus Carlton once. I've never forgotten it.
My father owned a navy-blue GLS Estate version, which was officially called Omega Suprema here in Brazil. It was also known as "rabecão", or "hearse" in free translation, due to its large size. Fun times!
My parents had both the older Carlton and then a newer Omega. They loved them and to be honest they were comfortable and quiet, my mother wanted the 3000 though 😊
I remember here in the UK in around 1987 seeing a German plated new Opel Omega before they were released here and I was blown away by the styling, especially the massive vertical rear lamp clusters and high boot line. (It may have been '88 but it definitely was a European Opel and not a Vauxhall)
Thank you so much! I am a car enthusiast and host a Chinese-speaking podcasted called 孤岛车谈 or Isle of Auto. When I tried to tackle the Opel Episode I realized that Opel was not loved by Germans, neither was by Brits or Americans, as their car models history was very scarce. I really appreciate your spirit to dig into this very difficult topic! Thank you!
I had a 1998 Omega MV6 3.0 auto.
Seriously comfy, fast and safe - especially at speed, would sit happily at 100 with no fuss, even fully loaded.
Nice inside too, black leather and genuine Recaro front seats as standard.
Loved my Omega. Paid basically nothing for it and drove it for about 6 years. We used it as the support car when my friend and I cycled Lands End to John o Groats. Only has the 2 litre, which was a little on the underpowered size. But still a very comfy car for its price.
As you said, Opel and Ford were competing. Early in the seventies, Ford had the Ford Taunus 20M and 26M with up to 2,6 liter engine and 125 Hp. Opel in the early seventies had the "boys dream", the Opel Commodore Coupe 2.8E with 160 Hp. It took nearly ten years for Ford Europe to match that with the Ford Capri 2.8i with 160 Hp.
I remember my dads -87 Omega.
Loved the comfort.
It left us sitting at the side of the road a few times though.
As an owner of an Insignia, I think you should make a video about Insignia. Like how a auto company decides to build a car which is valuable more than its cost when they are at the edge of bankruptcy.
Keep up the good work 👍
The Holden Commodore that was released in 1978 was the Opel Rekord with a Senator front end. That was done so the Holden 3.3L straight 6 and 5L V8 could be used as they would not have fitted in the Rekord engine bay. Also the Holden Commodore was heavily revised to last our harsh conditions. The body was strengthened and different vinyls for the interior were some of the changes.
The Holden VT Commodore that was based on the second generation Opel Omega was actually wider than its counterpart. This was done as Holden believed that Australians wanted a big car and they were right as it was a sales success.
I find the reason the V8 Omega being canceled due to a lack of a suitable gearbox just plain BS. Holden had the same Chev 5.7L V8 and had both automatic and manual gearboxes.
Finally when it came to replacing the VT to VZ Commodore, Holden had no large Opel car to base it on so Holden got the green light from GM to build its own platform. That car the VE was released in 2006 and that platform was used up until Holden stopped making cars locally in 2017.
In testing an Omega with a V8 crammed into that smaller engine bay then simulating Autobahn running at 6000 rmp for hours did not hold up especially the transmission. Too cramped and compromised. In the smaller Omega.
Don't need to be able to do that in Australia, but might fail also in flat out endurance running.
My dad was big fan of the large 'post 1978' Vauxhalls. In the mid 1980s my parents briefly owned a '79 Royale 2800 auto. In 1993 my dad wanted an Omega based Carlton but opted for a 1986 D registration Rekord based Carlton 2200i CD auto that was within budget. Great cars with big soft velour seats. 😊
The Omega was ahead of its time, its now, an underrated classic. aged well imo.
Yes! Been waiting on this! Had a V6 Omega as a company car for a short time. Was super comfy!
Those late model Omega's were prone to rust like crazy here in the snow and slush laden Nordics, now to think about it, so did the early model Astra's. Opel's were really popular but that ruined their reputation and it never really recovered. Great video yet again!
Had one of these back in the day, great cars. Basic 2.0 GL model. Always wanted a 3.0 24v, but never got round to it!
My father had one and was my first daily drive when I was young, including top speeds and some drifting... Really great car, absolutely roomy, fast and safe, 100% reliable. He traded it many years after just because our car had no climate or sunroof, and traveling in summer was no option, but... what a car
I owned a 6.0l VXR Monaro for 4 years. Literally the best car i've ever driven. So much fun and bags of character. I miss the old girl a lot.
I find it funny that in Europe the Omega name meant something that was somewhat luxurious, while in Australia it was the base model version of the Holden Commodore.
yes in Australia you had larger cars.
its called the poverty pac here haha
@@klosr4978 shitbox premium pack
Your videos always brightens up my day! I had 2000 model year Omega 2.5 V6 automatic few years ago. One of the nicest "regular" cars what I have driven. In my opinion Omega always deserves v6 because it was surprisingly heavy (1695kg). Sadly it suffered a lot of engine troubles and constant oil leaks so I had to give up and I got Nissan Maxima with V6 of course. I still think Omega was the last real Opel/Vauxhall. I really miss that car.
damn, the Omega was like a good 200kg heavier then the Holden version which had bigger engines lol.
I loved these, and in particular the Commodore, which still looks awesome today.
I remember as a kid in the early nineties seeing a senetor parked on my road...
I was blown away by the luxury... It had a third headrest in the middle on the back seats...
From factory, Opel Omega (first gen) rusted like nothing else in Sweden, much due to road salt in the winter I think. It was almost comical how fast they rusted. Of course, many owners got a rust-proof undercoating on their Omegas.
Switching to less toxic paints and undercoatings or just stopping the application of factory undercoating altogether because of new environmental laws really ruined the reputation of many cars. Dealers were partly to blame for not informing buyers of the changes and emphasizing how vulnerable the car would be without immediate application of aftermarket undercoating.
It was developed under the rule of Lopez, I think. At least that would explain a lot.
Gotta admit, it's a bit surreal being Australian and being able to just pick the bits they used on Commodores out from the rest of the GM parts bin stuff. Gotta love GM
And then there's the J-car (Camira) and the T-car (Gemini)! Also that Opel Ascona with a nose that's a dead ringer for a LJ Torana...
@@steved3702 Camira was a disaster for Holden, the European mid sized cars in general never did well here, Ford had the same experience with the Mondeo in the 90s, it did a little better in the late 2000s with the later gen though.
When I visited south east Asia as a kid, I remember riding in an Opel Rekord (VB/VC Commodore shape) taxi. Best day ever
I had an 84 Carlton GLS. I loved it and I would happily have that same model again
I have had 5 of the omegas from the 2.0 upto the 3.2v6 and adored them thank you for this bought back some very happy memorys and very interesting story
Actually the Monza was badged as a Vauxhall Royale Coupe, the Manta was the Vauxhall Cavalier Sport Hatch and actually the Opel Commodore was also in the UK. This was also badged as the Vauxhall Viceroy sitting between the Carlton and Royale. (Ah, that was mentioned at the end)
And actually the Lotus Carlton engine fits fine in the Senator. I knew someone with that very conversion.
Lotus Senator. 👌
I love Opel Omega, especially the Lotus Omega! A full underrated beast! I want to buy the car and thanks Big Car for informing about Omega!
My father came home one day with a pale blue Opel Rekord 2.3 diesel. That was the day I realised that I must have been adopted, or at least told everyone who ever saw me in that car that I was.
Don't forget the big Vauxhall Viscount and the much forgotten GM Ranger division which basically created Vauxhall-Opel frankenstein creations for the Belgian, Dutch and South African markets. The Rekord/Commodores/Monzas were also the basis for the sharp-looking Bitter coupes.
They saved 1 kg by getting rid of glass headlights, but anyone who has a car with plastic headlight lenses knows, how terrible it is to have plastic lenses because they fog within a few years. Same for plastic radiators, which are total junk, sometimes lighter is not better.
Another awesome video.
Loves the Lotus Carlson.
As always thanks for the effort and time taken to keep us entertained.
I used to dust off a lotus carlton in the vaxhaull dealership wen I was a child
Animal of a car
I have owned to Opel Omegas, I bought a brand new 1992 2,5 liter and had that until i was scraped in 2008. A great car which I used on the autobahn for the first two years. Drove fast, secure, silent and economically. A great car and especially a great engine which never failed in any way.
Around 2012 or, so I needed an extra car and drove passed a dealership that just sold a similar Omega that looked awful with an exterior, rusty and bad that made the car almost unsellable. I got it for almost the scrap value and used it for three or fours years as second car. The mechanics and interior was pefect despite the bad looks. The most economic car deal I ever made as large engine, rusty old opels was almost impossible to sell but the 2,5 L engine was a real work horse that never failed and very nice to drive especially on long journeys. Great memories to see this RUclips video 😊.
One of my fondest memories of watching television with my dad was back when I was 12 or so in 2005 and a regular real crime/police show came on. This show always had between 5 and 15 minutes of the show called "On Patrol" where a TV crew followed real cops on duty. It was the only show of its kind back then here in Denmark while I know that's been a huge thing in the US and UK for a long time. But my memory consist of cops in a chase stretching for almost half an hour, where they were trying to catch a 17 year old kid in his dads V6 Omega. The cops where in Mk. 3 Mondeos and the kid in the Omega put distance between him and cops on the straights but could barely handle the car on any kind of a corner. It ended up with the kid touching grass and spinning around onto a field at a junction with 5 police cars on his tale and thankfully nobody was hurt or injured. That chase was the coolest thing I'd ever seen and I wanted an Omega so badly but ofc my dad got himself a Toyota Avensis instead XD
Great video as always. I had a good look at the Lotus Carlton on display at the British Motor Museum and it's quite the car. Also, what many don't realise is that all of them actually very very dark green, not black.
Would love it if you could tell the full story of the Holden commodore, starting out based of the opal/Vauxhall with major structural changes to survive in aus too the all Aussie platform that challenged the big euro brands for driving pleasure
My stepfather always had Opel Omegas when I grew up so this video hit me right in the nostalgia feels! I love Opel to this day. Though I drive a Volvo now, but someday I actually want to have a Opel again.
My family had a beige/gold 2001 Vauxhall Omega estate, and it was awesome to make a long story short. Really miss it.
That VX Commodore at 19:22 still looks great 22 years later. I remember being a kid when these where EVERYWHERE in Australia and really wanted my dad to get one to replace his VN Commodore (was actually the badge-engineered Toyota Lexcen), hated that car!
I had a Vx s pac commodore for my first car and my parents had a vs Lexcen
Ahh, the VN Commodore (well, mostly. GMH did do a fair bit of re-engineering on it), but when Nissan pulled the pin on supplying the 3Lt six that had powered the previous VL Commodore (a good engine), GMH had to rapidly adapt the Buick 3.8 V6 (which by that time was mostly used in FWD American cars) and never got it balanced properly for RWD until the VS and was a horrible, rough engine in the Commodore. But Holden out-marketed Ford (who had their own issues with the EAs head gasket) and it sold well.
Holden always sold Commodores as Australia’s car, but so little of them were really Australian.
I think the main reason for dropping the Nissan engine was the the AUD-JPY exchange rate made a massive unfavourable shift after it was selected for the VL, making it way too expensive. The V6 also meant local manufacture which was important when duties still applied. Fun to see the amount of space in the engine bay of the VN...VS series Commodores for the straight six that was never installed.
I had a VN and I found the 3.8L very smooth, the platform while large was very light around 1300kg and the torquey 3.8L drove with little effort, though with the open diff it was way too easy to spin the rear in the wet.
the Ford inline engines where better engineered definitely but I think the holden/Opel chassis was a level above you can tell just by looking at what has survived to the current day, it got even worse in the BA era where the body was basically made of cardboard but outside of roof sills sagging the commodore can easily hold up to this day if not banged out.
I bought the Commode VN when was released, the Buick V6 was tuned to match, and be more responsive than the V8 in the previous model. That’s why it ran rowdy, 225 kph in the base auto shopping car was serious since the brakes were rubbish.
I never owned one, but was lucky to drove 1986 Omega A in early 2000s. Automatic transmission, disc brakes on all four corners, on-board computer etc.
Great video as always. Strangely in the Republic of Ireland, a RHD market, the Vauxhall name was dropped and we have Opel instead.
Another great video, nice to sit back & watch somebody else's hard work! Your brave & courageous timeline of big Vauxhall-Opel models had one tiny error, the last Cresta [PC] of 1966 was not based on an Opel but totally Vauxhall designed. The Opel claim that the V8 Omega B was canceled because of no suitable gearbox being available was typical of the horse...t their press dept came out with at the time, GM had a multitude of auto & manual gearboxes they could have used in addition to buying Getrag or ZF units, I suspect the reality that they would probably lose money on the whole project dawned on them, the Omega V8 was an extensive & expensive re-engineered car compared to the standard version. Keep up the brilliant work!
I'll take your word for it, as you seem to know more than anyone about Vauxhall! Love your website - so much great information. Shame you didn't cover the 2nd gen Omega - I was flying blind on the script!
Yes, Holden developed a successful V8 Commodore model using the same Corvette motor and gearboxes as was available to Opel. There was also an LWB/limousine variant that, like Commodore, was sold in Australia and also exported to Middle East markets, badged as a Chevrolet Caprice. Maybe that is why Opel didn't continue with the V8 version
Just a note. The Opel Omega wasn't "exported" to Brazil. It was made in Brazil as Chevrolet Omega. At that time, cars importations was prohibited in BR, just the local production and a few legalized importations was allowed. Just the 3.0 engine was imported, later been replaced by the old inline 6 cilinders just a bit modernized. It was the best car ever made in that country.
Sorry - my bad. I've pinned a comment with the correction. Thanks!
Great footage and the photo of Wayne Cherry with Thatcher was marvallous
Yeah, his look is priceless!
Another fantastic history of a fascinating period in the automotive landscape. I love that you use factory photography and videos in these presentations, keeps this channel a step above others.
I am glad they never made an Omega based Saab ! It definitely didn't fit the brand DNA. Saab were a distinctly front-wheel drive brand. Great video again 👍
A very fun, if mildly confusing one 😆
I was a Vauxhall mechanic from 86 through 91, so right when the new Carlton first arrived.
To me, it seemed very bland when it first launched. Although it drove nicely.
But the 3000 gsi was much more like it.
Never appealed enough to me to own one though, probably because I wasn’t in need of a large 5 seater car.
Lotus Carlton was a different matter though. Never did get the chance to drive one, but it looked amazing even standing still.
Agreed bland is the word
I had one, 2ⁿᵈ gen pre-facelift, automatic V6, I loved it, my favorite car I owned so far!
70s and 80s European GM looked really great, miss seeing these cars around
Interesting video. I remember the Cadillac Catera and although I remember driving one and remembering that it drove quite well, by that point Cadillac had its challenges. I didn"t know that the Pontiac GTO was based on the Omega. As I recall, the GTO and G8 were publicized as Australian-made which I guess was an attempt to make the car sound more exotic or at least, unusual. However, I think by that point Pontiac was more or less a dead brand. I also remember an Oldsmobile car called the Omega, which had nothing to do with the European model.....anyway, thanks for the walk down memory lane.
The Aussies at Holden did a big job on the Monaro which was what the GTO was based on, outside the chassis which it self was modified I would say it's at least 90% Australian body wise because it didn't share the same dimensions with the Opel in width or wheelbase and the suspension and driveline was completely different, the engines and gearbox being American.
it was essentially a merge between European and American engineering made in Australia, alot of the technical know how was used on future Cadillac's and is why alot of their cars are very driver focused and arguably better then even BMW in that area.
The Commodore ended up being quite different to the Omega B. It had a wider and longer chassis.
They stretched the front to suit the 304 and the two black strip's on the roof is pretty much where they made it wider, I reckon the doors would bolt straight on from the 3rd generation Commodore to the Omega B
@@ebbyfrystires5696 Only for the sedan though. I think the doors were longer for the wagon because it was on a longer wheelbase and there was extra metalwork behind the doors on the VT - VX series.
@@stuartroberts9545 the doors were the same. I've worked on both the Omega and Commodore and the doors were no different even the same parts inside em.
from VN onwards it was based on the senator.
At Ridley’s Automotive museum in Kwinana, Western Australia I saw some prototypes built upon the 2006- VE Commodore with slightly different roof lines, lights and interiors, with Opel and Vauxhall badges. It looked like they were aiming for a premium large sedan for the European market, I can only assume it didn’t proceed because the market shrank in Europe. I can’t remember what the Curator said but there were all kinds of weird and wonderful prototypes that would have ended up in a crusher that were saved there.
My mother had in the early 90s a Senator A 3.0, a Monza 3.0 and a Manta 2.0. The Senator was one of the best cars we ever had in the family. In 2000 we had an Open Omega B Break, a big and very comfortable car. Unfortunately, this car found it's end in a car accident, it was driven by me (someone wanted to overtake a car in a very stupid way and hit me frontal). Because of the Omega, I walked out just with a few scratches. I really miss the RWD big Opel cars.
Can you do a video on the demise of GM in Europe and Asia. From one of the most dominant manufacturers to an ever shrinking market share is surely worth a look into (we all know bad management and cost cutting were the cause, but the details would be interesting). GM have had a presence in Europe for almost 100 years (Vauxhall and Opel) and decided to pull out only a few years ago with no trace left.
Well I'm slowly covering GMs demise in EU with various car stories. I'd like to cover Daewoo at some point, and I'm sure GM's demise in Asia will crop up.
An even more dramatic collapse in Australia. Holden dominated sales from 1950 to 1979, then too much Opel in the new Commodore started a gradual slide. Then in 2020 a complete collapse due to the Opel Insignia being imported as their expected volume car. Sales went back to late 1940s level. Holden badged Korean cars impressed no one.
No Holden anymore an tiny amounts of GM like trucks and Corvettes.
@@johnd8892 I only just discovered articles on the HQ successors at the Shannons website like the cancelled HV series. With insufficient money there were always compromises from the early 1970s. Including going with the Opel-based Commodore over developing Kingswood udates as a cost-saving measure only to spend even more by the time the Commodore was toughened enough!
Wow, a video about a shitbox i own!
7 Years driving a 4.1L Omega in Brazil, great car
Recently watched Hagerty on the Lotus Omega, amazing how this comes together. Chapeau
As an Australian, it must be said that these were great cars. While our Holden engineers did rework them to be as Australian as possible, the base car was still the Omega. I actually found the original Omega (which came to Australia as the VN Commodore) to be my least favourite Commodore. However, in my opinion, the Commodore was quite simply the best value sedan in the world and a lot of that comes down to the work of Opel engineers. That being said, our Commodore’s magnum opus certainly came with the fully Australian VE/VF Commodore, which was a truly world-class sedan, and the best non-premium sedan ever made, in my opinion. Nevertheless, thank you to the Opel engineers for allowing us Australians to enjoy these cars that would ironically become the face of Australian patriotism.
Oooh the first Omega is so much better then the second. The "B" omega kind of falls apart after 15-20 years 😂 The old one also had its issues, but none of the issues made it undriveable, ever, even at 30 years of age, you had to do everything a certain way because every single part was awfully worn out, but dang, it still just worked 😀 i just love that reliability, and i still daily a simple old Opel, just because of that 🥂
The old Omega rusted as if Lopez had something to do with it (I think he had).
@@mjouwbuis Yes, they kind of developed a few rust holes when you looked away for a few minutes 😂 but they were easy fixes if you catched them in time, otherwise a quite substantial weightreduction though
Lotus Carlton was the Ultimate halo car. I remember going to the Main Vauxhall dealer in my area and it was behind a rope. No touching. The first one I saw on the road was magnificent.
Vauxhall at the time were into dealer racing so this dealer had one on demo. But apparently no one was allowed to drive it.
The depreciation of the Omega was much of its fall. People used to by them Cheap and thinking they were getting a steal compared to a Astra or Cavalier but the Omega cost a lot to run and many were neglected. Especially the Facelifted mark 2. They were alway junk when came in for MOT or service. Everything was leaking. Autobox issues and electrical problems. Especially the windows. And switchgear. Being a relative heavy car for the uk with break suspension and steering / tyres worn and owners did the bare minimum.
Quite a few of my friends dads had Senitors and the late one used by the traffic police was much fun. 3.0 24v. But again they were all neglected in used market. The lovely Lotus Carlton’s are worth massive money now for a clean unmoderated car.
I used to own an Opel Omega, 2.5 BMW-built diesel, estate, very nice car. Very solid overall apart from the oil cooler which is a common problem with these engines.
The Senator with the 3.0 6 cylinder was a great car. Comfortable and very, very reliable for our family. Good memories!
My family owned two A Omegas and two B Omegas on a row. All of which were superb family saloons, A models especially being care free reliable cars. I had the last one as my own car for some years before I sold it away due it going wrong all time (we had it for 16 years and it was driven closer to 400tkm, the V6 engine was still in great condition on it thou while everything else gave headache). I so much regret selling it away, I loved that thing. Excellent ride quality, it was quiet and comfortable, and the engine was so smooth despite the lack of power.
Your research is so detailed. Great presentation as well, you have loads of info but keep it light as well. Great channel 👍
I had a Passat lease car in 2001 and becasue VW took months to fix the engine management system, I had an Omega as replacement. The biggest problem I found was that the kids where getting car sick. Something you only discover once you are dealing with it, but definitely damper on the driving experience.
2:38-2:43... I had one of those, in that colour (Mexico Red) 2ltr. It was an 85 on a C plate. Got it in June 1990, a year later, I had the 2.2ltr engine put in, I LOVED it! Quick, quiet and the first car I ever owned where u could open the boot from the drivers seat, with a button hidden next to the steering column. Smashing car!
These videos are invariably excellent, being well researched and presented with lots of ‘I didn’t know that’ content. Never been a bad one.
My first car was a 1995 Opel Astra 16v wagon, bought it off my mum in 2008. Always loved that car :)
My father bought the Opel Kadet when we lived in Holland in 1966-67 (he was the General Consul for our country) and the Olimpia Vanden Plas RR as well. I liked the Opel better because of its dashboard instrumentation (I loved watching the speedometer change colors from yellow to green to red!). My father used the Olimpia to go to his business (when we came back to our country he became a crop-dusting pilot and made quite a decent amount of money for the time).
In an interesting twist, Opel, once owned by GM, is now under the same umbrella as Chrysler.
The world turned upside down!
That is some really terrific research. Excellent video about a brand and model I always had a soft spot for. Thank you.
Omega A is actually a great car. I've been an owner of one since 2015, still do. Bought it for like a 1000 dollars, and drove it daily. It's 31 years old, and everything that's old breaks down. So, after another 1000 dollars investment, I have all-new brake system, headlights, coolant tank, steering rods, and so on. It has a C20NE engine, it knocked recently sadly, but as far as I can tell it wasn't even opened or swapped, and it went for 300k km. So, a New engine, radiator and clutch is in order.
It's really simple and quite easy to work with, has huge amounts of interchangable parts, and it's actually pretty durable, as I love driving it in the snow and low temperatures.
So, another 1000 bucks in and I'll have myself a New car)
Your all the videos are amazing and the narration is great with a beautiful voice and I love the scale model s in the showcase
While the Commodore looked similar externally, they were partly re-engineered structurally and widened a little. They were fitted with much larger capacity engines as well.
They could have used the VY, VZ, VE and VF Commodore's in Europe badged as Opels, they were already sending Holden's to the UK badged as Vauxhall's and as Chevys to the Middle East so I couldn't see why they couldn't slip a few more on the boat with a Blitzen in a circle badge slapped on the grill.
I owned a Cadillac Catera. It was a decent car. GM tried to modernise and make the Cadillac appealing to younger people and compete with German luxury brands. I think it failed because the clientele still wanted more “traditional “ styled automobiles. The joke is that Cadillac is an acronym for Cottonheads And Doctors In Large Luxury American Cars! (For my overseas friends-Cottonhead is slang for an old person with white hair)
A friends dad bought a new BMW 316 in around 1979. It was basically a tin box with four wheels, an engine, gearbox and seats. No electric windows, no PAS, no stereo;, he had to pay extra for a push button radio. No alloy wheels either. I think it was about the same price as a Cortina 2000 Ghia. You had to spend a lot of money to get decent kit. They really weren't well equipped. As for the Senator, when it was first launched, Car magazine rated pretty damn close to the 7 Series.