American Learns About The German Car Brand - Opel
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- čas přidán 18. 03. 2024
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I am a German engineer, who did work in international construction. in 2017 I was in Massachusetts, President No. 45 had just been inaugurated and there were a few guys with MAGA stickers on their cars (no red caps due to mandatory hardhats on site) and one of them picked up a line Trump had said quite often at the time, which was that Germany is a terrible country because we take American money by selling them our Mercedes and BMWs but do not return anything by buying Chevrolets and Lincolns and whatever.
I kindly asked him, what defines that a car is American and what makes a car German. He explained: „GM, Chrysler and Ford are American car companies, Mercedes and BMW and Audi are German.“ - „Oh, so it is basically the headquarter that defines if a car is American or German. In that case I can really give you good news. My first car, which I bought in 1998, was an Opel Astra, and Opel was a GM company at the time. I later bought a Ford Focus, which also of course is a US company.“
He did not accept this, explained: „Nonono.. These cars are not US cars, because they are not built in the USA, they are built in Germany.“ - „True. So it is NOT the headquarter, but only where they are built?“ - „Yes!“ - „Good news again! Most of the Mercedes and BMWs I see in the USA are SUVs, right? And every SUV, even those driving on German roads, are not built in Germany. Every Merc SUV comes from Tuscaloosa, Alabama and every BMW SUV in the entire world was built in Spartanburg, South Carolina. So at this moment, in Germany, in my garage, stands my Spartanburg built BMW X3 US car.“
He still was not happy. And to this day, I do not understand, what in the eyes of this man makes a car American or German. A car built by a German company in the USA is not American enough. A car built by an American company in Germany is not American enough, too.
We buy a lot of cars built in America here in Germany. And we build a lot of cars for American companies here in Germany, too. I doubt that many of the German cars in the USA are actually German built.
I guess that, to him, a car manufacturer needs to both be founded in the US and manufacture their cars there.
Trump only cares where the money goes…
I can't believe they left out the 1970 Opel GT!!!! Incredible!!! One of the best looking cars in the world!!!
Micro Corvette :)
18:24
@RSProduxx just as the Manta was the Baby Camaro, so was the GT the Baby Vette. The old GT was like the C3 Vette, and the new GT was like the C6 Vette. Manta was basicly Camaro but smaller.
@@biljancanin yep, I basically wrote that further down :)
When a Jaguar has a lovechild with a Corvette lol
Opels but right-hand-drives in UK are badged Vauxhall. Same cars.
Yeah they swapped the Holden to that as well. Check out top gear 👍
They were only the same from the mid 70s. Before then they were mostly different in construction and style.
Opel were sold in the UK in the 60s and 70s; the Rekord C was quite a looker and of course, there was the Manta.
Uk and ireland vauxhall because of driving on the left rest of europe is opel for opposite reason
@@Fortunateenough1995 Only Opel officially sells in Ireland but because of Ireland's odd car market we end up with a good bit of Vauxhalls too but they don't officially sell any cars
They kind of made fun in Germany of Opel Manta drivers. They even made a movie Manta Manta.
One of the jokes, "What's the last thing that goes through his head when a Manta driver crashes into a wall.... his rear wing"
In the Netherlands we had this guy who made his Manta into a one-seater so he could have both elbows out of the window. Lots of the Manta jokes were about the elbow out of the window as part of the social stereotype.
There are 3 Movies. Manta Manta, Manta der Film and Manta Manta 2
@@Capt.-Nemo just saw indeed that Manta Manta Zwoter Teil was released in 2023. Der Film I never heard about.
@@DenUitvreter When I was a kid, it was jokes about the Calibra. Still funny though.
The shortest Manta joke. There is a Manta parked at the University. And was the names not something like Manni and Ushi? 😂
If memory serves, the Opel Speedster was built on the same platform as the Lotus Elise.
You beat me to it, the VX220, they where on eBay for £7k only 5 years ago, now £15k!
no wonder its sold like a rock, who wanted quality made in the UK!
Try finding one these days that hasn't had at least one adventure into a ditch!
Also the base for Tesla Roadster... wich is among the stars now 😅
I missed the Omega Lotus which was a sub 6s Omega build by Lotus. I was mindblown as a small kid.
The Ferrari Killer
They were rare beasts.
But the V-6 was pretty good too.
Except for changing the spark plugs at the back bank.
and ther was the legend omega evo 500 with a 3L strait 6 runing at 10000 rpm the sound ist mindblowing
372 hp baby
I had a omega 3000. That was a beast.
the Opel GT (1968 - 1973) is missing. that car was a beauty
Wright on!! I couldn't believe it either!!!! The best of Opel didn't showed
Opel GT is a toy Corvette.. 😁
The Calibra deserves the most attention, it is the all time best Opel car with very futuristic design for its time, amazing aerodynamics.
Yes. Especialy the Dtm Calibra from the 90's like the 1995 from Keke Rosberg
In my country back in the day it was called poor man's Ferrari😁Just a stunning car.
Manta is by far best car they made and only good car.
I kindly disagree, the Calibra is a cool car, no doubt. But theres the Lotus Omega ....
@@wykydytronManta A and maybe Opel GT...
Opel, GM, Vauxhall and Holden had a partnership for decades. Many cars shared parts and even entire models were just rebadged. All four brands started off on their own but a four-way marriage of convenience was formed to get around import taxes.
Fun fact: The Corvette C3 was based on a concept called the Mako Shark II, which the Opel team also took inspiration from for the 1968 Opel GT. This is why the Corvette was called a Stingray, to keep with the aquatic theme.
Big Car on YT does deep-dives on car brands and specific models. Perfect to learn more about brands and models. Great content but maybe not the best to react to as it is a talking head format. Do watch it if you want to learn more about Opel, he did a video on it.
Just one thing Opel = Vauxhall. Point here is that is the only brand I know, that has another brandname in the UK versus the rest of the world.
@@FacelessJanusDon't forget also (on occasion) Holden = Vauxhall (VXR8, Monaro)
@@FacelessJanusAfaik there are also some differences between South African Vauxhall and UK Vauxhall. Maybe also in corporate structure (ownership) not just models. The UK Vauxhalls seemed total carbon copies, the SA ones diverged more.
@@FacelessJanus No, Vauxhall was it's own brand still, not just rebadged Opels. It was owned by either Opel or GM but it still operated as a separate company. They designed some of the cars that ended up being sold worldwide.
It was, again, a marriage of convenience as Vauxhall wasn't doing well after WW2 and Opel wouldn't sell in the UK after WW2, given it was German. This was a way for both to survive.
did you know, GM owned Opel, Vauxhaul and Holden....
the closed down holden and sold the rest to PSA,
since GM is out of the picture, the car makers making a profit....
which never happens while GM been running their shit show!
The original opel GT was probably the one car opel is known for in the US, it was their best seller there
It was called "pocket Corvette" 😂❤
Maxwell Smart drove one (in the tv series "Get Smart")
@@ropeburn6684Like a Corvette adjusted to town sizes and gas prices in Europe haha
The original Opel GT from the 70s was sold in the US as Buick Opel.
The Opel Manta is a legend. Even a german comedy movie franchise was made: "Manta, Manta". Please go down that rabbit hole, you will be surprised. The tuning scene went mental with that car.
Mental? No, they did go crazy, the new kid's car it is, but the Omega lotus is also a look-worthy
Back to back watch of Manta, Manta and Manta, der Film. Quite cringe, but also funny.
@@ftfmf3448 Mental. czcams.com/video/XnlKt-8HMJw/video.html
@@ftfmf3448 Man, imagine you would still have one of these cars nowadays. A few years i worked with someone who showed my his pride, a Zakspeed Turbo Ford Capri in white with red flame decals on the side. Porn on wheels. I woild die for a Mattig widebody Manta with a proper engine or a Rieger Catano Calibra Turbo.
Funny I could swear the Mantas had an appeal to a certain type of young men, looks like it was the same in Germany
Here in Brazil they were ALL branded Chevrolet. Astra, Omega, Kadett, Corsa...
It's so weird. In Germany we had Chevrolet around the 2000s. But this were models from the korean brand Daewoo.
I'm from Chile, we have both opel and chevrolet, both sold the corsa
Its funny to me, because in Europe, some cars are branded Chevrolet that are actuall Daewoo.
But the bodywork (e.g. the Astra) is more beautiful than ours.
Man you have the 4.1 Chevy straight six on some of the omega's, i want to swap an engine like that in mine. The turbothrift straight six
You can't imagine how many emotions these cars trigger in me
as someone who grew up in Germany, near the Opel car factory. It's like looking at old family photos ❤️
Little bit about Opel. Opel uses alphabet to categorize their cars generations (Corsa A-F, Astra F-L, Vectra A and B, Insignia A and B,...)
Opel's under GM rule were probably most badge engineered cars in the world
From 1929 til 2017 Opel was owned by General Motors
Opel was bought by PSA Group (Citroen, Peugeot, GM and Chrysler Europe) in 2017
From 2021 Opel is owned by Stellantis. Stellantis was created by merging FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) and PSA Group
5:40 1st gen Holden Commodore is based on Opel Record an Senator A at 6:17
6:12 they only share the name, nothing else
6:25 in UK it was called Vauxhall Nova
6:28 famous Lotus Carlton ((also called Vauxhall Lotus Carlton, Lotus Omega and Opel Lotus Omega) was based on Omega A
6:38 Holden Commodore VN is related to Senator B
7:35 Vectra A in UK was called Vauxhall Cavalier and Holden Vectra in AUS
7:53 Frontera was badge engineered Isuzu MU
8:57 Corsa B was called as Opel/Vauxhall Corsa in Europe/UK and as Holden Barina in Oceania. Fun fact about Barina. Every single Barina generation was rebadged from different car manufacturer. 1st and 2nd gen are Suzuki Cultus (1st and 2nd gen), 3rd gen is Corsa B, 4the gen is Corsa C, 5th and 6th gen are Chevrolet Aveo
9:10 Combo B and C used Corsa B and C's front ends. Combo A was called Kadett Combo and used Kadett E's front end
9:16 Omega is sucessor to Senator
9:56 Astra G was sold as Astra Classic after Astra H was introduced as cheaper model. Astra F also had Classic version when G was introduced
10:27 Catera is indeed rebadged and slightly different styled Omega B. Catera were also assembled in Germany in Opel plant
Omega B is also rebadged as Commodore VT
11:38 Speedster was a rebadged Lotus Elise Series 1. It was even produced at Lotus plant in Hethel, Norfolk, UK. It used Opel Ecotec engines. In UK it was called Vauxhall VX220
11:39 12:37 Saturn Sky was rebadged Opel GT
12:06 Vivaro A and B were rebadged 2nd and 3rd gen Renault Trafic.
14:21 Vivaro C is rebadged Citroen Jumpy (happened after PSA bought Opel)
12:13 Saturn Astra is indeed rebadged Astra H Coupe
12:28 OPC was performance division of Opel (1997-2022). Before 1997 performance Opel used GSi name. Insignia B (2017 onwards) again used GSi
13:21 fun fact about Insignia B. In Europe it was sold as both a saloon and liftback/fastback. You could only know the difference when you opened the trunk, because they looked the same from the back
15:38 Insignia B was also sold as Holden Commodore ZB in Australia. One think I wish Insignia B had was V6 engine from Regal. In Europe we only had turbo I4's
18:04 1st gen of Mokka was sold as 1st gen Chevrolet Trax in US
There's a lot of cars the video you watched missed.
Zafira A, B and C which were compact MPV, and D which is called Zafira Life is Citroen Jumpy
Astra J GTC
Agila was rebadged Suzuki Wagon R and Suzuki Splash
Adam and Karl (named after company's founder and his eldest son)
And if you're wondering why Astra starts with letter F, thats because letters from A to E belongs to Kadett. So there was never Kadett F, that was Astra F. :)
@@taavihorila3879 yep, it was seen as a continuation of the line, plus in the UK the kadett was called astra from the beginning
@@foxy126pl6interesting, never knew that.
Did you spend more than a hour constructing this comment? xD
There's also a C Vectra
South Africa had 2 very special Opel`s, only released in that market...The Kadett 200 GSi "Super Boss" and the Kadett/Astra 200TS...both really fast cars for their day!
Both cars were developed for the South African Touring Car series, The GSi "Superboss" was a giant killer, developed with one purpose, to take on and beat the E30 BMW 325i and it did just that, repeatedly! (BMW South Africa then later released it`s own homologation special to fight back, the 325is, then it was on, some of the best racing i`ve ever seen!)
Quite and interesting story if you look into it...
The Kadett C from the 70es was a world car, you had it mostly as Chevy Chevette and Pontiac 1000. However, the US models were 5 door hatchbacks, a shape we did not have from Opel, although we had many: 2 and 4 door sedan, wagon, 3 door hatchback, coupe and targa roof.
My uncle had a Manta B in the 80es, he lived in southern Germany and I visited him a lot in the summer holidays. Many memories of trips into the Alps for hiking are connected to this Manta.
80es Kadett were sold as Pontiac LeMans. My first car was a Kadett E
Also the 80es Ascona was rebranded a lot in the US, it was the J-car - i.e. Chevy Cavalier, Pontiac Sunbird, Buick Skyhawk, Cadillac Cimmaron.
Opel Rekord E and both generations Omega were sold as Holden Commodore, while the according Senators were sold as Holden Statesman.
The 1st generation Mokka was sold as Buick Encore.
I love how videos like this highlight specific cultural differences. The chuckle and the "weird-looking" comment when you saw the Opel Combo surprised me. Small businesses here in the UK and most of Europe run on small vans that look almost identical to the Combo. It is impossible to leave the house any day of the week without seeing something that looks like that, so when somebody thinks it's "weird" I find that an interesting peek into another culture.
Let him look at all the variants of the VW Caddy. That thing was ugly as shit too. Especially the 2nd generation. They now have it right with the Caddy V.
Opel Speedster or Vauxhall VX220, based on the Lotus Elise but with a Vauxhall/Opel engine.
That chassis was also slightly stretched to form the basis of the original Tesla Roadster.
There is the Hennessey Venom Gt which also uses the same platform as the Lotus Elise
Hello from Sweden. My father worked for GM, and especially the Opel brand, for 25 years here in Scandinavia. I was just a kid when my dad and his boss went to Hungary for a business trip in the mid 1970s. They decided to go by car with a brand new _Opel Commodore Coupe_ (B model), six cylinder and around 160 HP (which was huge for an Opel in the 70s). You can imagine the peoples reaction in a strict communist nation who had only access to Trabant, Wartburg, Lada, Dacia (before Renault bought it) etc... Opel cars (the more regular ones) were hardly seen as a "fun", "cool" or "exciting" car to have, but they were scary reliable and great German engineering. And in my opinion they had some really good looking cars too, the Opel GT and a few others were in fact cool. We used to take road trips to Italy, Hungary, Austria, Spain, France every summer in the late 70s and 80s... not once did we have any problem whatsoever with our Opel Commodore, Rekord, Ascona or Vectra. Fun times... My father passed away 4 years ago at the age of 83. I have so many great memories of our road trips all over Europe. Miss you so much dad...
My father had an automatic Commodore B, one of only a few in the UK, it was a bit of a beast (he'd rebuilt and tuned the engine) and he used to troll many BMW and Mercedes drivers. They had better initial acceleration but his Commodore had better top end lol
Ähm... Dacia and Renault worked together, since the early 70's. Dacia produced the R12 in license as a Dacia 1300, or so...
@@melchiorvonsternberg844 That early? Did not know that. I just remember the Dacias from the 70s and early 80s being horrible cars... always lots of smoke behind them 😂
@@robert4you If I remeber it right, the R12 was the only car, which was built in license, before the Iron Curtain fell. Let's say, they work toghether since 1972 (the R12 came out in 1970), then it was only 17 years before, the "eastern time" ends. And remeber how slow new models were developed in the Soviet block. So there is no real surprise that was the only cooperation, till that time...
Finally! I am still driving my Opel Astra from 1999, and I absolutely love this car - everyone in my family always had an Opel.
To note: PSA is now part of Stellantis, so Opel/Vauxhall is now under the same marquee as Chrysler, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, FIAT, Maseratti, Jeep, Ram, Abarth and the previous PSA brands (Citroen, Peugeot and DS Automobiles)
Oh my goodness! You said “anyway” instead of “anyways”. You are single-handedly raising the entire continent of North America in my estimation every time you open your mouth and say something sensible.
he correctly said "Teegra" and not "Taigra"
Mindblowing :D
When I hear an American say "exspecially" I always tune out immediately
Opel won a WRC Drivers title with the Opel Ascona 400 with Walter Rohrl at the wheel. I still have my 1977 Opel Kadett C saloon. Very underrated, reliable cars. You need to watch Jimmy McRae or Russell Brookes drive the Vauxhall Chevette HSR, the Opel Ascona 400 and the Opel Manta 400. Legends of UK and European rally.
Opel technology was used extensively in Australian Holden especialy in the Commodore range
A lot of the 80s cars are all a mix of Vauxhall , Holden and opel 👍🏻
My First Car 1991 is a Opel Kadett E 16V 150 PS. Color in Red.
Opel Kadett E GTI 16 V
GSI
I had a 1991 Kadett GSI 16V as well but mine was a South African homologation special dubbed the Superboss. Had a F20 LSD gearbox, Cosworth head and made 170 PS
I'm from Germany and drive an 'Opel Astra G' from the early 2000's. It still runs like its new!
My grandpa was working for the local steet maintainance and drove an Opel Blitz while on shift. He always praised that thing.
Rebranded was also some Models of the Kadett as a Pontiac LeMans, Pontiac T1000, Chevrolet Chevette, Isuzu Gemini and in Canada sold as the Passport Optima.
The V8 Engine of the Diplomat B is a Chevrolet 327.
Vectra was SO popular in Scandinavian!! My parents had Vectra A,B, B facelift and C 😂😊
Good cars, and as far as I know it is why the Vectra C was chosen as the last Saab 9-3 platform.
Opel is now part of Peugeot which is now called Stellantis. It also has other brands Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Vauxhall, Ram.
The Cadillac Catera was actually built in Germany,in the Rüsselsheim Plant,right in Line with the european Omegas. I think if you would check the VIN on the Cars,you can see if it´s built in Germany. German VINs start usually with WO,signaling it´s built by Opel in Germany
Oh yes 😮! Opel Manta Classic ❤
You can't beat a good Manta 😜
There is a great deal of Opel DNA in the Holden Commodore, Berlina, Calais, Statesman and derivatives. The Commodore was built on the same platform as the Opel Senator, but with a larger engine and very modified suspension. The panels are even similar. Obviously the Commodores were stylised in a very Australian way, but underneath the skin and in the interiors they are very similar vehicles.
The Opel Omega first gen was sold in the U.K. as the Vauxhall Carlton.
They did a co-lab with Lotus to make a Vauxhall Lotus Carlton.
950 were made between 1990-92.
The standard 3.0 24v was enlarged to 3.6 with two turbo chargers making 377bhp.
These things go for anything from £50,000 to £120,000.
The Opel/Vauxhall Mokka first gen is the Buick Encore. After GM sold Opel/Vauxhall was sold to PSA, Buick did their own thing, while PSA/Stellantis did theirs.
My first car was an Opel Manta, bought new from a Buick dealership. Likely the best car I ever owned.
The Opel GT roadster was not only marketed as Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice, but also as Daewoo G2X. They have, to this day, the engine with the most HP per unit displacement in stock configuration (130 HP/liter or 2.1 HP/ cubic inch) GM was able to produce.
Sadly, the viedo you watched didn't show the heritage that model was based on, the '68-'73 Opel GT, affectionally called Baby 'Vette. Along the Manta A and some Asconas, this was the only model sold in the US under the Opel brad back in the day. You still can find some in rural Arizona. (at the end of the video, I realized you got into that through the pictures.)
It's the model build 2007-2009. Build in the USA, when Opel was part of GM. Now Opel belongs to Stellantis.
You sure about first statement? Astra J OPC had 280hp from 2l (so 140hp/l) (GM A20NFT engine). Btw it's just upgraded engine from GT (GM Z20NHH)
@ the A20NFT is the 2nd evo of the Z20NHH, so same engine with better parts (a different type of casting process for the block, for example).
For a long time in Europe it was normal for many car manufacturers to have in their catalog an industrial vehicle known as a combi, which basically used to be the front half of their smaller vehicle with a box-shaped rear part. Citroën manufactured, for example, the 2CV AK400, a 2CV van. Ford had the Ford Courier, based on the Ford Fiesta. The Opel Combo that appears in the video was the same but based on an Opel Corsa. Due to my job I have driven many vans over the years, but my favorite will always be the Citroën C15, which was based on the Citroën Visa. With the arrival at the end of the 90s of the Citroën Berlingo and the Peugeot Partner, the trend changed and the combis disappeared.
Edit: OPC means Opel Performance Center. The models with those letters are the most powerfuls ones of the line.
The Opel Kadett C was sold in Brazil by Chevrolet as the Chevette.
The Opel Rekord C was sold in Brazil by Chevrolet as the Opala.
The Opel Kadett E was sold in Brazil by Chevrolet as the Kadett.
The Opel Corsa B and Corsa C were sold in Brazil by Chevrolet as Corsa (We didn't have the Corsa A).
The Opel Omega A and B were sold in Brazil by Chevrolet as Omega.
We Brazilians also had Opel Tigra, Astra F, G and H (the latter renamed here as Vectra), as well as the Vectra A and B and Calibra.
I'm a die hard Opel fan, I drive them for nearly 25 years now. They are probably not the most advanced or exciting but they are really well built well engineered honest cars and incredibly versatile. I have a 2009 Insignia 2.0t now which is basically a Regal Turbo. A lot of development of smaller GM cars took place in Germany. The J body's you got there as cavalier and pontiac sunfire were developed aside the Ascona and the Pontiac Lemans from the 80s is a Deawoo Nexia which on itself is an clone of the Opel Kadett E (5th gen).
Also Holden commodore, statesman etc were built on the underpinnings of that '77 rekord and later the Omega. It is to easy to say it is a Rekord with a chevy v8 because Holden changed a lot but they are definitely related.
One of the most beautiful cars is the Opel Commodore A coupe from 1967. That was Europe's equivalent of a pony car. The Brazilian department used them to make a Chevrolet Opala, with Chevrolet Iron Duke i6's. Very cool car.
My coolest and fastest car was a tuned red Opel Calbra 2.0 16V 4×4 Turbo from 1994 with more than 300 PS with 6 gear handshift, this car was a dream to drive! It was really fast, one time i look how fast and i drive 300 km/h on a german Autobahn. But the coolest Calibra was the Calibra 4×4 Race Car from the german touring car championship DTM from the 90ies, you should look a video with this race car! I loved the black CLIFF Calibra race car, this V6 engine sounds so great with more than 12000 rpm, i also love the white/yellow DTM Calibra in the Opel race colours.
Ive heard their AWD system was very problematic
Roter V6, 1994, 139,000 km, so original, dass er noch 1995er Reifen hatte, finnische Karosse, und daher tatsächlich kaum Rost.
Hat einer Frau gehört und offenbar rund 10 Jahre in der Garage gestanden.
Und irgendwo in der Nähe ist noch ein roter C20NE, in Erstbesitz.
Und beim Rumstöbern stellt sich raus, dass auf der griechischen Inse (Levkada)l, auf die ich schon fast so lange wie das Auto alt ist zum Katamaranfahren hinfahre jemand einen roten Turbo hat(te).
Die Bedingungen sehen ganz gut aus, der Sohn meiner Freundin/Bekannten ist Kfz-Meister, in der Nähe ist auch eine Karosseriewerkstatt, wo sie Interesse hatten, eine Mietwerkstatt ist auch erreichbar (und den Auspuff und die Benzinleitung hat geklappt).
Mal sehen...
300 from a 2 liter is really impressive
@@Blackadder75 maybe 300 on the speedo. probably real 280-290 max, the car was extremely aerodynamic tho. Not sure if the Calibra even had a 300 kph speedo. The Lotus Omega which had 380hp didnt even do 300 by factory advertisement and it was a big deal, this thing was the fastest sedan of the world for a very short time.
Although the C20LET engines are very capable, theres dudes running about 700hp with them in Kadetts nowadays.
@@foxy126pl6 it was shit to be precise. They should have never went from RWD to FWD, engines were a dream back then.
The 2.0 are definately faster than their VW counterparts with matching HP numbers.
5:18 My uncle has this exact model, with bucket seats and a roll cage. I remember that he used to drive me around with it as a kid, was crazy fun. The Opel Kadett GTE also saw some rally action and can be driven in the Dirt Rally games.
4:54 The Diplomat Coupé has a Chevrolet V8.
However the standard Chevrolet V8 kept self-destructing during high speed tests on the Autobahn so that coupé ended up with a race-prepped Corvette engine (all forged internals) that was down-carbed. Only 374 or so were mad
The Opel Ascona A-type was sold as a Buick 1900.
Early 1990s Pontiac Grand LeMans was a rebadged Opel Astra, but it had a different grille.
Ahhh yes the Opel " Thecunt " in Portugal, as you can imagine lol, we never got the Ascona per say lol, we had it with a completelly different name, same with the Hiunday Kaway, that as far as i now only exists in Portuguese speaking countries since Cona/Kona = Cunt, and Norway since the same name is slang for House Wife, but my favorit by far is the great Mitsubishi Wanker ( Pajero in Spanish speaking countries, of course it was sold as the Mitsubishi Montero )
Manta, Manta!
A german movie from the late 80s. You should definatly watch that some time, a real cool throwback into time with loads of cool cars and german car culture of the time.
An ode to the opel manta! Watch it lol 😂!
Opel+GM and Brazil had a very particular case of success: the first car built entirely here was a adaptation from Opel Rekord B called Chevrolet Opala. Under the Opala, there was the Chevrolet Chevette(Opel Kadett). Then, in the '80, they introduced the Chevrolet Monza(Opel Ascona) between the two. During the '90s, they retired the Opala(after 1000000 units sold) and brought the Omega. During this decade, GM sold almost the entire Opel range here: Corsa(including a UTE version), Kadett, Vectra, Omega, Zafira, Meriva... The only US based vehicles sold here were the C/K series pick-ups, and (later) the Silverado and Blazer. After that, the "golden age"(from GM/Opel) ended and our dealerships were invaded by SUVs and global cars... A great shame.
My family had both the Rekord(Opala) and the Vectra B. My father always wanted a Monza(Ascona), then he looked for an Omega... But choose an E39 528, from BMW...lol
The Aussie Holden Torana had its' roots in an Opel model as did the Holden Commodore.
Opel Kadett B Caravan … Never let me down…😊
I owned an Opel Astra F GSI 1.8 16V and an Opel Corsa C GSI 16V 1.8. I ❤ed them, great cars😊
My dad liked his Opels in the 70s and 80s. His blue Commodore 2.8 GS (Commodore B) with black vinyl roof was the first car I loved. (The 2nd one was the yellow 2CV they bought for my mom a few years after they got the Commodore.)
9:31 Around 2013 my Dad got this Tigra in a very nice green yellow color from his mother because her friend owned the car and he passed away and sadly only i think 3 or 4 weeks after he had taken the Opel Tigra over the car got rear ended on a red traffic light :(
My Dad had only little pain with this neck after the crash luckely but the Opel Tigra was completely junk.
If I were to describe Opel, they've always been well build family oriented cars. In general, they never have made a bad car, and stuff in them was well thought out and well put together.
Really nice video dude ! Keep them coming. My father owned mostly opels back in the days. Omega 3000 station wagon etc. My mother had the first gen corsa in sporty trim. I always had a soft spot for them. And btw that first opel roadster from the early 2000 is a rebadged Lotus Elise ;)
II have driven Opels for several years in the 2000s, during my time working for the British army. Back then, they switched from buying cars - it was mainly Fords, like the Escort - to the system of leasing cars. They had the Corsa as a small runaround, the Astra Estate (which I mainly used), the Vectra as a staff car for senior officers, the Combo for maintainance workers, and the 9 seater bus/van thing Vivano or what it was called.
The Astras (I always had them for 2 years, so they were basically always new cars) were 1.9ltr TDI Estate models, with 90 hp or so, good enough for about 210km/h on the Autobahn. And the thing sat on the road like a race car. But best of all: it was absolutly reliable. There was never a problem with the engine, the (manual) gearbox or the suspention, during the 6 years or so I drove them. Can't say the same about the Ford Focus, which was chosen after the Opel lease ended.
First gen Opel Corsa was sold in the UK as a "Vauxhall Nova", which was popular with car tuners who read "Max Power" magazine.
Biggest factory engine you could get in them was a 1.6-litre in the sport "Nova GTE", but a common modification was to take the 150bhp 2.0-litre 16-valve engine from the Astra GTE 16v / Cavalier GSi / Calibra 16v (GM C20XE "Red Top"), and squeeze it into the Nova.
Next gen the Vauxhall Nova became the "Vauxhall Corsa" (bubble shaped thing), upon with the Vauxhall/Opel Tigra was based.
Eventually there was a competing "Ford Puma" to rival the Tigra, based on the Ford Fiesta Mk4 and earlier Mazda MX-3.
It's funny, 'cause today I was commented ecactly this topic to and older video of you. Thx for making this to your topic
Nice video thank you for your work. I have driven always an Opel in my life. At the moment I drive an Insignia B GS in Red and I love it❤.
The best video I've watched so far, topic wise! I usually say "born and raised in Opels". It is a brand very close to my heart. I've still got my grandpa's '80 Kadett and my own second car, '85 Rekord +some junk cars.
Great video! It was nice to see you discover the brand. completely without prejudices and accusations. In Germany there were a lot of jokes about the Opel Manta and its driver. I never owend one, but I think they were really stylish.
So far I had only once an Opel - Astra CC (convertible with steel roof) 1.8l naturally aspirated engine once. It was the most reliable car I've ever had, although it lacked some power. I've only had to do the regular oil changes and that was all in 6 years. Had much more problems with the VW, Ford, Mazda and Dodge I have owned.
Opel, Chevrolet, Holden (Aus), Vaushall. Opel Ascona and Record were a popular cars, in the 80's.
The Opel Omega wich was sold as Cadillac Catera among others has technique - wise a very good reputation in germany, really surprising to hear, that it wasnt like that in the US, especially we got the TÜV and have everything checked at least every two years...
Chevrolet cars sold in brazil between the early 70s until about 2010 were mostly rebadged Opels or based in Opel platforms. We had rebadged Corsa, Astra, Vectra, Zafira, kadett and others like the Chevette (based on the kadett C) opala (based on the rekord c, and related to the Holden Monaro), and a lot more. We even had pickups based on the Corsas B (Corsa Pickup) and C (Montana).
Opel Combo from 93 was one of the most common "delivery" cars... usually for grocery stores sometimes also used by construction workers. It's basically mini pick up truck with closed bed
#05:08 yes!....Opel Ascona B...had four of them 😁 Love those cars.
Nice Video! I drive the Opel Astra L (2023) and i love it
The Opel Caliba Cliff DTM Touring Car is absolute legend. Loved those Calibras within the german touring car championship
The Calibra was fire. The name, the looks, the stance. It was a cool ass car back in the 90s.
The Opel Speedster was also called the Vauxhall VX220 in the UK, they were built by Lotus, Its basically an Elise with a different body and engine.
there is a whole famous german cinema movie serires called ´´Manta Manta´´ about the opel tuning cult & street racing in germany.
german actor Till Schweiger is also in the main role,
Thr corsa was and still is one of the most popular cars in the UK. They are everywhere
I Cannot believe that you did not recognize Oliver from the Top Gear Botswana special. One of the best episodes ever with Jeremy, Hammond and James. Richard Hammond even took the car (His name is Oliver) back to the UK with him. He still has videos on Drivetribe with the car.
Btw the movie "Manta Manta" with the greatest German actor Till Schweiger 😆 is legendary. If possible, definitely watch it, perhaps as a reaction?
i love my opels! i have a 1983 Opel corsa A1 and a 2006 Opel Vectra OPC wagon :)
Hey there, this is my plucky local brand and it deserves some love and attention :) Thanks for spending some time on this, please have a look at German tuner culture from the 70s-00s, you'll find Opel there in any time period. Cheers, hope you're doing well.
18:23 my mum had a yellow Opel GT when she was young in the 70s
as a small child I loved watching Knight Rider and she told me that she always had a car that was as fast :D
Opel was once the largest bicycle manufacturer in Germany "No other invention combines usefulness with pleasure as closely as the bicycle!" Adam Opel
Opel was the source of most "Holden" cars "manufactured" in Australia for many years before GM closed down the car making business in Australia a few years ago.
Great post,
here is a little information. The Chevrolet Monza is based on the Opel Manta. They also have the same platform.
You once did a report on Group B racing and you were so excited about a long drift in a fast left-hand bend. This car was a Manta 400.
As someone who's all-time favorite car is the Opel Calibra and Opel in general, i really appreciate this video...
Hi. I have been working for Opel in France between 1990 and 2018. Some clues : The Omega-Catera was one of our most reliable models ; the Opel Speedster has a Lotus platform ; the Opel GT is a rebadged Saturn, not the contrary ; the Opel Frontera is a rebadged Isuzu with Opel engines. And also, today, there is no more GM based Opel's. They are all now on Stellantis basis. The very last one was the Insignia.
Opel had very close work with Holden.
Large export of 4 cyl Fam II engines to Opel by Holden Aust manufacturing.
Over the years I worked on numerous fuel injection calibrations for Holden Commodore, and Frontera, the Frontera was basically for IBC/Vauxhall with injection system work by Holden with my support as engine was Opel/Holden manufacture, for 2 and 4 door Frontera, with minor design variation on 2 and 5 door versions and also assisted Holden with modified/calibration fixes on Vectra and Gemini calibrations for fixing of field issues. Did alarm system work for Opel. Had near 35 yrs with Holden and Opel related work for my job, employed by Aust based division of major German company
I was in Heidelberg back in the late '90s and saw a white Bedford Astra van there which was the last thing I expected to see in Germany as my boss at the time back in the UK had one (and also an F reg) - I thought I was being followed! The commercial division of Vauxhall was called Bedford in the UK due to one of the factories based in Bedfordshire (in Luton - part of the assembly line goes above the road and you can drive under it). Large vans and lorries with the front end of the cargo area that overhangs or sits directly above the cab are usually called 'Luton vans'. Now it's just Vauxhall across the board for all cars and commercial vehicles as the name Bedford was dropped a while back.
In the late '90s and early '00s I frequently stayed at a hotel next to the railway lines in the Rheinland. All day long you could see trains loaded with cars travelling both north and south. Those travelling north were carrying Vauxhalls for the UK built in Russelsheim (Opel factory near Frankfurt) and those travelling south were carrying Opels built at Ellesmere Port (Vauxhall factory near Liverpool). Strangely enough, my own Vauxhall Adam has all the labels within the engine compartment written in German although I believe the model was built in Spain.
I once owned 15-year old Opel Kadett model D from 1981. It was a white one, but around the doors it was more of a yellow. It had holes in the bottom that were so large that I needed to wear rubber boots when it rained. I paid about 100 USD for it, drove it for about 9 months and then immediately to the scrapyard.
Today I drive 2012 Opel Insignia 2.0 CDTI Biturbo 4x4 Sports Wagon, with literally all the options that were available at the time. It's a stationwagon on diesel with a Haldex AWD. The biturbo system is quite interesting because it was not designed to go fast (it's a very heavy car anyway), but to have a lot of torque at any time and to prevent turbo lag. So it has a small and a large turbocharger. The small turbocharger starts to work almost immediately at 1500 rpm so there's always at least 350 Nm of torque, up to 400 Nm above 3000 rpm.
Man, I just love the "G IWrocker" plate in the background
The matching shirt & eye color just mesmerises me xD
I used to own two Opel Omegas, one after annother, a 97 and 98 I think they were, the sedan 2 liter versions, They were pretty nice, specially the last one because the previous owner had tinted the windows, put a sports exhaust on it and a few other bits and pieces...
But the best thing about them by a million miles was that they were REAR WHEEL DRIVE! So far the only two cars I've owned that have been RWD and I still miss them every single winter for obvious reasons 😅
Had some bad luck with them though, on the first one the CCU (computer) went and a new one would've been over a 1000 euros not including installation, and since I only payed 800 for the car I could not justify it.
That's when I found the second one and thought "Perfect, i'll keep the old one and use it for parts for the new one"
Well that one had a tiny little oil leak when I bought it, and before I could get around to fixing said leak, it must have gotten a lot worse cause suddenly it just ran out of oil, no oil light ever came on, it just suddenly died one morning on the way to work, and it turned out the engine was seized
Sold both cars as a package at a bit of a loss, and a few days later the new owner had the newer one running again
The Opel Kadett 5:14 was sold in the US (with a slightly different front and rear) as a GMC Chevette and as a Chevrolet Chevette.
For sure my favourite brand. Very underrated
I've had quite a few Opels over the years. My favorite was my 2005 Vectra Station Wagon with the 3.2 V6 automatic which was a Holden/Cadillac motor.
Love the Manta. A friend of mine is restoring one currently
The first picture of the Opel Kadett ( later ones were our Holden Gemini with Isuzu engine ) - was the one used in Top Gear when they did their African Challenge with the Lancia Beta and W123 M-Benz. Richard Hammond called it Oliver. He went and found it afterwards and bought it and restored it. Has displayed it at English car meets.
Love opels. My 1st car was a opel manta i200 .
My frist car was opel ascona 1979 2.0L engine.. it was fun to drive especially in winter, rear drive so you can try some rally moves...
The Opel Calibra, sold in Australia as the Holden Calibra, was one of my favourite Holdens of the 90's. Of course we received many Opel's in Australia as Holdens and then in 2012 Opel was sold in Australia as a stand alone brand for 12 months, featuring the Corsa, Astra and Insignia. The Opel Zafira MPV also made it to Australia, but just before GM axed Opel from Australia, so wasn't 'officially' sold in Australia, even though the left over stock was sold off by Holden dealers. The Opel Mokka was also due to go on sale in Australia around the same time, but those vehicles were redirected to New Zealand and sold as used cars in that market.
Opel is currently sold in New Zealand and there are plans to reintroduce Opel to the Australian market, now that it's under the guidance of the Stellantis Group.
I've previously owned a 2016 BK Holden Astra RS-V 1.6L Turbo manual hatch (Opel Astra K) which was one of the most underestimated small cars on the Australian market at the time!
The Tigra is a nice little coupe with a timeless and unique design (I had one, the 1.4 90HP Ecotec variant). It was also sold in LATAM markets as Chevrolet Tigra.
The Calibra is an another timeless car, it almost made it to US market as a Saturn. The C20LET engine is a beast!
Opel did the whole development for the GM Group, they also paid the development. The R & D is in Ruesselsheim, near Frankfurt.
The former Chevy Trax is an Opel Mocca.
The coolest car opel ever sold was "the poor man's Corvette", the Opel GT. There were endless jokes about the drivers right arm because of the lever-driven opening of the "sleeping" headlights
The Ascona B 400 and the Calibra V6 4x4 are worth a look when you're interested in motorsports. Walter Röhrl won the World Rally Championship in 1982 with the Ascona and Manuel Reuter won the DTM/ITC in 1996 with the Calibra. Those might be the two biggest successes in Opel's motorsport history.
In the early 70s SCCA started an entry level road race series. 4 cyl, no GT or sporty versions, no add ons, absolutely stock. The Opel Manta A absolutely dominated. At SIR if there were 4 Opels they came in 1-2-3-4 and then a pause for number 5. The Manta was one second per lap quicker. Doesn't sound like much on a 2 1/2 mile track but 20 laps later is 1/2 mile or more ahead of the pack.
I wanted to race. Bought a Manta in Nov. Caged in Dec. Manta disqualified by SCCA in Jan. for unfair advantage. Ran my first stage rally in Feb.
I wasn't slow. Most cars were modified mine was bone stock (still a student) so the best I could do was keep the fast guys honest. But I got some attention.
It was a great car. I think it was winning at road racing because it was the first of the cars, in that class, to upgrade to new suspension. Most other cars had struts and leaf springs and the Opel used double wishbones in front and a torque tube rear suspension (think cheaper 4-link.) Around 90hp and 2300lbs.
So slow in the 1/4 mile and yet it beat most 4 cyl cars. Yep, things got real slow after the first oil crisis.
Note ... the slowest cars in the entry road race series were Vega, Super Beetle, Datsun 510. I can hear the 510 owners screaming from here. But I was there. They were slugs. No power and bad handling. The 1600 Pinto was better.
Opels had a great rally car in the late 70s Ascona. This evolved to the Manta B 400 in the Group B era. A very good car. Developed a lot by Vauxall to become a serious competitor, even against the 4 wheel drive turbo cars. Excellent in the Irish pavement series and the British Forest Rally. When Group B reached ridiculous HP the Opel fell back. When Group A became the WRC class the Opel was dated and the Ford Sierra and the Lancia Delta were monsters in Group A.