General Motors imports - The early years, part two

As mentioned in part one, GM was looking to break into the burgeoning compact car market which was being dominated by Volkswagen on the import car side and Rambler on the American side. Studebaker was preparing to jump into this market as well with its Lark for the 1959 model year; a full 12 months sooner than General Motors could hope to get their domestic import fighter into its dealers.

 

With the decision made to bring overseas-built GM cars to U.S. dealers, the only thing left to do is decide which ones and which dealers would get them. Part one of this series detailed the Vauxhall/Pontiac partnering which was less than successful in pushing foreign compacts back across the ocean and only lasted long enough to get the domestic compacts to market. The next pairing did not send VW packing, but it did last far longer than the Vauxhall/Pontiac pairing.

 

Adam Opel, General Motors German subsidiary, was founded in 1863 as a sewing machine and bicycle manufacturer in Russelsheim, not coincidentally, by Adam Opel. The first Opel cars were built in 1899 and only 14 years later they were the largest producer of automobiles in Germany. By 1931, General Motors had purchased 100% of Opel after an earlier purchase of a controlling interest. World War II saw the Opel factories seized by the German government then bombed by the Allies before the end of the war. After the war, some of the Opel manufacturing capacity wound up in Russian hands while the rest was in western hands. A new home factory was built in 1950 as production began to spool up.

 

In 1958, Opel made the official trip to America landing in Buick dealers with the Opel Rekord. The Rekord had a 100-inch wheelbase and a 174-inch overall length. It weighed 2,010 pounds. It was powered by a 91-cubic inch (1.4-liter) four cylinder engine and was available in sedan and wagon models. Its styling was similar to the Vauxhall and used many “Americanized” cues like multi-tone paint schemes and a wrap-around windshield. Again, it was a success in its home market, but did little damage to VWs sales charts.

 

Instead of folding the tents when the domestic compacts were introduced, GM continued to bring Opels over for Buick dealers to peddle. After the Rekord, which in Germany was a mid-sized car, the Opel Kadett was introduced to America. The Kadett B was available in several body styles, including a two-door fastback coupe. Engine choices were expanded over the Rekord and during its run the Kadett could be had with a 1.1-liter, 1.5-liter, 1.7-liter and finally a 1.9-liter cam-in-head four cylinder engine. Four-speed manual and automatic transmissions were available except with the largest engine which could only be had with the manual transmission. The Kadett lasted from 1967 to 1972 at your local Buick dealer and was joined by a new and stylish sports car in 1968, the Opel GT.

 

The GT was a styling sensation and hid its pedestrian Kadett underpinnings very well. The GT looked like a miniature Corvette which was also all new for 1968. The GTs body was built by the French company, Brissonneau & Lotz and was an all steel unit body like other Opels. The base engine was the 1.1-liter four cylinder unit with the 1.9-liter engine as an option that turned out 102 horsepower. Manual and automatic transmissions were available with the larger engine while the smaller mill was available only with the manual transmission. The GT had concealed head lights that were rotated into position manually with a lever next to the floor-mounted shift lever. While it had no trunk lid, there was a fair amount of cargo room behind the seats due to the fastback body style. While not intended to fight off VW directly in the sales race, though comparisons between the GT and the Karmann Ghia were made, the GT certainly created a lot of interest in Opels.

 

The Opel Manta was introduced in the U.S. in 1971 and was a snappy looking two-door coupe styled with help from American Chuck Jordan. The Manta was meant to compete with the Capri from Ford and other sporty compacts that were becoming popular at the time. Equipped with the 1.9-liter four cylinder engine like the GT and other Opel models, the Manta could be had with two equipment packages over and above the standard level of trim. The Rallye version included a complete gauge cluster, styled steel wheels, stripes, fog lights, a performance exhaust system and a different rear axle ratio for better acceleration. The Luxus version utilized more sound deadening and soft corduroy upholstery giving the Manta more of a luxury flavor than a sporting one. The Manta lasted until 1975 in the United States

 

Along with the Manta, by shuffling some sheet metal and some name badges, Opel developed the 1900. It sprang from a European market Ascona to produce a sedan and wagon to sell alongside the flashy Manta. While good cars, they were unremarkable and even with the introduction of fuel injection to the Opel line, 1975 would be the last year for European Opels at Buick dealers.

 

One last Opel-badged car came to the United States but it wasn’t from Germany. The General Motors T-car, known in America as the Chevrolet Chevette and Pontiac T-1000, was the basis for a large number of cars in Europe and Asia including some well respected high-performance cars along with their more pedestrian counterparts like the Isuzu Gemini. It was the Gemini that would provide the fender where the last Opel badge would hang in the United States and was known as the Isuzu/Opel. By 1980, Opels in America were no more, replaced by the next wave of compact cars from GM, the X-cars.

 

GM sold a good number of Opels in the U.S. in over the 20 year period that they were offered here. They did not run the other imports out of town though, and eventually the Japanese would turn the tables on these captive imports and show them the door. Opel still makes some excellent cars, supplying them to world-wide markets with a notable exception; America. Since 1980, only two Opels have made the trip stateside but they weren’t called Opels. The unlamented Cadillac Catera and the Saturn Astra, which is now discontinued, were products of Opel design and construction.

 

Other imports would join the GM family in the United States, but for now Europe would not be sending them.