Opel seems really to be resurrecting themselves

[haraldo]

Just have a look at the new concepts....

Opel Monza

Opel GT

 

[TheWarrior]

Just have a look at the new concepts....

Opel Monza

Opel GT

My Dad's first car was an Opel. I've never seen one, and sadly, their 'revival' (in the US anyway) has started to sound mythical...

Of relevance, (slightly) what do you think of this Bicycle 'Super Highway' that I am hearing about? Do you live near any of the proposed routes?

 

[markw]

I loved the GT from the early 70's but was never in a position to be able to get one.

 

[haraldo]

My first car was an Opel kadett, exactly like this one:

It had a one litre engine that was the uttermost in simplicity, it was so simple that you could easily fix anything yourself, mainly it was just changing oil and oil-filter, and then occasionaly clean the fuel line that could get dirty. It had all drum brakes that were so simple that I also changed the brake-pads myself... very cheap car to maintain. So few parts that could break that it was very reliable!

There were some security issues, locks were not so good so you could unlock it with a small coin and start it with a screwdriver, but there were never any issues with that... who'd want to steal that car anyways

Powerful enging, are you kidding me... in a downhill, with the wind in the back, some good fortune and the sun helping me too... I could have a good hope to break the 80km/h speed limits (50mph), mabe I could manage 90km/h or 100km/h on a very good day

Not the fanciest, not the fastest, not the most secure... But it always brought me where I wanted to go

My father was very dedicated, he only had Opel cars...

 

[jinjuku]

I had no idea they were still in business.

 

[j_garcia]

I had no idea they were still in business.

Basically they operated under another name under GM's stewardship AFAIK.

My first car was an Opel kadett, exactly like this one:

My father was very dedicated, he only had Opel cars...

My neighbor was an Opel mechanic and at any given time had 5 or 6 of them of all varieties. Wagon, coupe, sedan and that neat little sports car, the original GT, that wasn't so sporty lol.

He would occasionally let me drive them. I actually really loved those cars.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

The Opel GT was a great car ... its resemblance to a Corvette is not accidental; they were both owned by General Motors. A buddy owned one in the late 70's (I was fresh out of High School at the time) and I had more than one chance to drive his. The old "cornered like it was on rails" applies, although like all 60's and 70's "add lightness" European sports coupes, power was unremarkable.

However, they suffered the same fate as the Datsun 240Z ... they rusted away and being an early unibody (no frame) construction, that makes them unsafe, rotting the structure that is required to hold the car in one piece. (Today, even some trucks are unibody construction).

Unfortunately Nissan (aka Datsun) still hasn't learned the rust lesson; floorboards disappearing in a sea of red dust is still an issue in post 2000 Nissans.

Some of the current North American Buicks are based on Opel platforms, and the Regal is pretty much an Opel with different badges attached. If you are paying attention, those concepts in the OP look suspiciously similar to what Buick will offer at the North American Auto Shows.

 

[j_garcia]

Buick became the destination of Opel's chassis that were originally Saturns. When Saturn went defunct, they switched them over to Buick instead.

 

[Rickster71]

Basically they operated under another name under GM's stewardship AFAIK.



My neighbor was an Opel mechanic and at any given time had 5 or 6 of them of all varieties. Wagon, coupe, sedan and that neat little sports car, the original GT, that wasn't so sporty lol.

He would occasionally let me drive them. I actually really loved those cars.

My buddy had a canary yellow Opal GT. It was a fun car, but really a tin can.
The sporty hood bulge was just to help route an intake hose.
IIRC, the battery was way out in front of the radiator in the center.