The Opel Picture Thread!

[Steve M.]

As long as we're doing picture threads of GM cars, let's throw in their German brand - Opel!

My favorite GM brand, actually! :lol:

Here's a 1973 Opel GT to start! Sold here by Buick dealers (?), it was, at the time, GM's only two-seater available in America other than the Chevrolet Corvette.

http://www.1motormart.com/gallery/73opel01.jpg

[*Pleasant Tomorrow*]

I thought that was a type of Gem. No, that's Opal...

[Steve M.]

Named for a Swiss town, the Opel Ascona was a mainstay in the lineup of GM's European division. Here's a 1975 model, including pictures of the interior.

http://www.klm-hamburg.de/Fotos_Autos/Opel_Ascona_B_1975.02.jpg

[Steve M.]

The stylish Opel Manta sport coupe - one of the few Opels that made it to the States! :)

http://www.opel.auto.ru/OPEL/manta/manta.jpg

[Steve M.]

One Opel that did not make it to the States was the topline Senator.

http://www.opel.auto.ru/OPEL/senator/senator_B.jpg

In the eighties and the earlky nineties, when the Senator was in production, buying one was the erquivalent of buying a Cadillac here - the Senator was GM's most prestigious car in Europe!

[Steve M.]

A 1976 Opel Kadett coupe - in. . . lime green! :eek: :lol:

http://www.vitua.fi/valokuvat/kadett.jpg

[Steve M.]

The Opel Corsa!

http://www.auto-top24.de/img/opel-corsa.jpg

Nice! :)

ANd to think GM never bothered to make and sell it here as a Chevy! :eek:

[theshark8777]

A 1976 Opel Kadett coupe - in. . . lime green! :eek: :lol:

http://www.vitua.fi/valokuvat/kadett.jpg

looks like a vega kinda.

[Steve M.]

looks like a vega kinda.


It does, now that you mention it. . . but I believe the Kadett was built on a different platform, the same platform that actually spawned the Chevette. But there is that GM family resemblance all around. :)

[Fleet]

Whenver I see an Opel, I think of this ad.

It's a two-page ad by G.M. (even though the Opel is really a German car).

Lol. Look at the difference... in the Opel text, it mentions things like a 1.1 liter engine (wow :rolleyes: ) or 1.9 liter, a 0.1 mile odometer and electric clock.

For the GS, it mentions things real men would be interested in like a 455-cu-in engine, 360 hp and 510 lbs/ft torque and a high-lift cam.

Let's see... I would take the 13-second, 5-6 passenger Buick GS with a big-block V-8 and 360 hp and leave the little 17-second 2 passenger car for the women!

[Steve M.]

Whenver I see an Opel, I think of this ad.

It's a two-page ad by G.M. (even though the Opel is really a German car).



Opel is as German as the Pope, but it's also a GM car. GM has owned Opel for decades.

If GM tried to make the kind of cars in Germany that they make in America, they wouldn't make a eurocent. Fuel taxes, a lack of subsidies for gasoline, and a distinctly Old World aversion to anything big on wheels (except for a Rolls or a Benz) ensure that Opel will always make small cars for Europe's small-car market. Of course, some of us Yanks like small cars, so what was wrong with GM selling them here?

(But Buick? Buick? Couldn't Chevrolet have sold them?)

[Fleet]

Opel is as German as the Pope, but it's also a GM car. GM has owned Opel for decades.

If GM tried to make the kind of cars in Germany that they make in America, they wouldn't make a eurocent. Fuel taxes, a lack of subsidies for gasoline, and a distinctly Old World aversion to anything big on wheels (except for a Rolls or a Benz) ensure that Opel will always make small cars for Europe's small-car market. Of course, some of us Yanks like small cars, so what was wrong with GM selling them here?

It's still a German car- German engine, transmission, body, etc.
An Opel is about as G.M. as an Arrow is a "Mopar" or a '72 Capri is a "Ford."

BTW, see the car part in my "Real Men Don't Eat Quiche" Thread. ;)

[Steve M.]

The Opel Calibra coupe! :)

http://www.v-cruising.de/Images/calibra1.jpg

And Pontiac is GM's "excitement" division? :eek:

[Steve M.]

"Hold that tiger! Hold that tiger!" :lol:

http://www.laurocar.it/images/MACCHINE/OPEL%20TIGRA%202000.jpg

The Opel Tigra! This one is a 2000 model.

[Fleet]

And Pontiac is GM's "excitement" division? :eek:
Yes, Pontiac used to have A LOT of excitement. Which is probably why the ones below are selling today for $20,000 or $30,000 in mint condition...

1968 Pontiac Firebird
Engine/horsepower..... 400/345
0-60 mph.................. 5.5 secs.
1/4 mile.................... 14.1 secs @ 100 mph

1965 Pontiac GTO
Engine/horsepower...... 389/360
0-60 mph................... 5.8 secs.
1/4 mile..................... 14.5 @ 100

1967 Pontiac GTO
Engine/horsepower....... 400/360
0-60 mph.................... 6.1 secs.
1/4 mile...................... 14.5 @ 102

1968 Pontiac GTO
Engine/hp.................... 428/390
0-60 mph..................... 5.2 secs.
1/4 mile....................... 13.8 @ 104

1969 Pontiac GTO Judge
Engine/horsepower......... 400/366
0-60 mph...................... 5.4 secs
1/4 mile........................ 13.85 @ 103

1969 Pontiac Grand Prix SJ
Engine/horsepower.......... 428/390
0-60 mph....................... 7.0 secs.
1/4 mile......................... 14.30 @ 97

1970 Pontiac GTO
Engine/hp....................... 455/370
1/4 mile.......................... 13.9 @ 99

[Steve M.]

And now, back to Opel.

http://www.allsportauto.com/photoautre4/opel/speedster/2001_opel_speedster_04_m.jpg

Here's the 2001 Speedster cabriolet at the Paris auto show! :woohoo:

[Ireneparalegal]

I thought that was a type of Gem. No, that's Opal...
Oh man, I thought this was abt Opal Gardner from ALL MY CHILDREN...oh well.

[Steve M.]

The Opel Zafira minivan! :)

http://www.autocomfort.ru/gema/opel/zafira.jpg

[D-Dey]

These are pics of the 1966 and 1967 Opel Kadett's.

FYI, General Motors bought Opel in 1931.

[D-Dey]

Here's another 1967 Kadette, and an Opel you don't see in America. Note the mid-1960's Chevy truck-style grille, on that fire truck.


http://feuerwehr-penzlin.de/opel.html

[Southern Hellraiser]

1988 Opel Omega

[Steve M.]

A later Opel Omega!

http://www.avtoportal.com/opel-omega.jpg

If it looks familiar to you, it should. Cadillac sold it as the Catera before replacing it with the CTS. :)

[Steve M.]

Just one for the Rekord - an Opel Rekord, that is! :D

http://www.opel6070club.com/Kuvia/esite_r_67/Rekord-67-15.jpg

This is a 1967 model.

[Steve M.]

Dig this - an Opel Corsa GSi! :)

http://www.aftonbladet.se/bil/skrivbord/opel-corsa-gsi.jpg

This is the Swedish edition.

[Steve M.]

An Opel Calibra all decked up for the autobahn! :cool:

http://www.speedsociety.de/pictures/cars/507/detail/vote_507_opel_calibra_4x4_turbo.jpg

With all wheel drive and a turbocharger!

[Steve M.]

An Opel Kapitan from the mid-sixties! :)

http://www.opel.auto.ru/OPEL/kapitan/kap_64_s.jpg

Don't tell me it doesn't look like a Chevy! :lol:

[Steve M.]

And here's an Opel Admiral from the early seventies. :)

Definite GM family resemblance here.

[D-Dey]

And here's an Opel Admiral from the early seventies. :)

Definite GM family resemblance here.


They all tend to resemble other American GM's. This car is closer in appearence to the late-1960's Full-size Chevy's, and the Kapitan you showed us looks like a mid-1960's Chevelle if it fell into the hands of George Barris.

[Steve M.]

Opel's eighties answer to VW's "hot hatch" GTI - the Kadett GSi! :)

http://www.autoholic.de/images/resized/kJ9DYMEINAUTO1.JPG

Pontiac sold this car here as the LeMans, except that it wasn't made in Germany or Michigan but in Korea by. . . Daewoo! :barf:

[Steve M.]

The all-new Opel Astra coupe! We'll get it as a Saturn this fall, and it will be made in Belgium.

[Steve M.]

The new Agila, Opel's urban minicar.

Cute, huh? :)

[Steve M.]

Once again, the Opel Omega!

[Ohio8]

Opel GT.

[Steve M.]

Still one of my favorite Opels, a Corvette in miniature! :)

[Steve M.]

Here's the Opel Junior, a concept car from the 1983 Frankfurt auto show. It had a lot of electronic gadgets, a fold-out sleeping bag, and a fuel-efficient 1.2-liter engine.

[Fleet]

Still one of my favorite Opels, a Corvette in miniature! :)
Minus the power. :D

[Steve M.]

Another Opel Corsa GSi, in red :)

[Steve M.]

An Opel Kadett "D"

[Steve M.]

The 2010 Opel Astra

[Steve M.]

Another Astra, this one a 2009!

[Steve M.]

1992 Opel Kadett (sold here and made by Daewoo as the Pontiac LeMans - the original version made in Germany is the superior version!)

[Steve M.]

two-tone 1969 Opel Kadett

[Steve M.]

Opel Kadett station wagon