Everything about Opel totally explained
Adam Opel GmbH (commonly known as
Opel) is a German automaker, part of
General Motors.
The company was founded on
21 January,
1863, and began making
automobiles in
1899. Opel was acquired by
General Motors Corporation in 1929 and continues as a subsidiary. Opel is part of
GM Europe, and is GM's largest European brand, and with
Vauxhall Motors in the
UK, forms GM's core
European business.
Early history
The company was founded on
21 January,
1863 by
Adam Opel, and at first made household goods, and was a major maker of
sewing machines. The founder died in 1895, with his company the leader in European sewing machines sales and producing over 2,000
bicycles yearly. They made their first cars in 1898 having bought the rights to the Lutzmann and sold then as Opel-Lutzmann. However, two years later, following the dissolution of the partnership, Opel's son signed a licensing agreement with
Automobiles Darracq S.A. of
France to manufacture vehicles under the brand name "Opel-Darracq". The vehicles were Opel bodies mounted on a Darracq chassis, powered by a 2-cylinder engine.
In 1906 they started to make cars to their own design which they'd first shown in 1902 at the
Hamburg Motor Show and from 1907 stopped making the Opel-Darracqs.
In 1911 the factory was virtually destroyed by fire and a new one was built with more up to date machinery and the manufacture of sewing machines dropped. Production now consisted of bicycles,
cars and
motorcycles. By 1913 they were the largest car maker in Germany.
General Motors takeover
In March 1929 General Motors bought 80% of the company increasing this to 100% in 1931. The Opel family gained $33.3 million dollars from the transaction.
Events
- 1862 – Adam Opel begins building and selling sewing-machines.
- 1863 – Opel established as a full-fledged business; hires its first employees.
- 1886 – Bicycle production started; Opel eventually becomes Europe's largest bicycle maker.
- 1899 – Opel introduces its first automobile (the "Patent Motor Car") and its first utility vehicle.
- 1902 – Designs first shown at the Hamburg Motor Show.
- 1907 – Opel-Darracq shuts down.
- 1911 – Fire destroys much of the Rüsselsheim factory. Sewing-machine production ends with the one-millionth unit.
- 1913 – Opel is the largest automobile company in Germany.
- 1924 – Installation by Opel in Rüsselsheim of Germany's first car production line.
- 1929 – General Motors, impressed by Opel's modern production facilities, buys 80% of the company in March.
- 1929 – Fritz von Opel flies the first manned rocket (a rocketplane).
- 1937 – Bicycle production ends.
- 1931 – General Motors increases ownership to 100%.
- 1940 – Nazi regime seizes control of Opel factories, ends all civilian production.
- 1942 – General Motors writes off Opel as a complete loss.
- 1944 – Rüsselsheim and Brandenburg plants badly damaged by Allied bombing.
- 1945 – Soviets seize Kadett production assets as war reparations.
- 1946 – First post-war 'Blitz' truck built.
- 1947 – Passenger car production resumes with the Olympia model.
- 1948 – General Motors reasserts control over surviving Opel assets.
- 1968 – Opel GT introduced.
- 1971 – Opel launched in Asia.
- 2005 – Started cooperation with Saturn Corporation.
- 2006 – Opel Japan shuts down in December.
Opel worldwide
Many cars sold by General Motors worldwide are Opel designs, including such models as the
Corsa,
Astra,
Vectra and
Omega. Opel models are also sold under other GM brand names, such as
Vauxhall in the
UK,
Holden in
Australia,
Saturn or
Pontiac in
North America, and
Chevrolet in
Latin America. Its
Zafira people carrier was sold in
Japan badged as a
Subaru Traviq, while the Omega was briefly sold in the
US as the
Cadillac Catera. Other models sold in the US, but slightly modified, include the
Saturn L-Series,
Chevrolet Malibu and
Cobalt. The majority of future Saturn models are expected to be either identical, like the
Saturn Astra and
Sky, or closely based, like the
Aura and 2008
Saturn Vue, to European Opels. The
Pontiac LeMans (1989-1994), which was the first car produced by
Daewoo in
South Korea for export to
North America, were based on the
Opel Kadett E (now Astra).
Opels appeared under their own name in the USA from 1958 to 1975, when they were sold through
Buick dealers as
captive imports. The best-selling Opel models in the US were the 1964-1972
Opel Kadett, the 1971-1975
Opel Manta, and the now-classic 1968-1973
Opel GT. (The name "Opel" was also applied from 1976 to 1980 on vehicles manufactured by
Isuzu (similar to the "Isuzu I-mark"), but mechanically those were entirely different cars).
Opel was long General Motors' strongest marque in Japan, with sales peaking at 38,000 in 1996. However, the brand has diminished in the decade since, and will reportedly be withdrawn by the end of 2006 with just 1,800 sales there in 2005.
Opel in Europe
Opel is the main GM brand name in
Europe except in the
UK, where GM's other European subsidiary, Vauxhall Motors, still uses its own "Vauxhall" brand name. Vauxhall's models were completely different designs from those of Opel, until the
1970s. The Opel name largely disappeared from the UK in 1981 after Vauxhall and Opel dealerships were merged, with only the
Manta and the Monza (the coupe version of the
Senator) being sold as Opels, until they were discontinued in
1988 and 1987 respectively.
Vauxhall began adopting Opel's names for its models, with the exception of 'Kadett' which was replaced by Astra, already used by Vauxhall, in 1991. In other
right hand drive markets in
Europe like
Ireland,
Cyprus and
Malta, the main GM brand name is now Opel, and for many years, Opel's Ireland brand sponsored the Republic's
football team, using the
slogan Ireland's Number One Supporter. However, many Vauxhall cars,
imported second hand from the UK, are still sold in Ireland as a
parallel import. Opel were also the main sponsor of
FC Bayern München for some times, not only club with a high profile but also an important marketing ploy for the company in the heartland of
BMW - indeed, the
Olympiastadion is directly overlooked by the BMW headquarters.
Some have suggested that the Vauxhall name should be dropped in the UK in favour of Opel, thereby harmonising GM's marketing strategy across Europe. However, Vauxhall has rejected this, on the grounds that its brand is well known, and fleet buyers, who are its main customer base, insisted that Opel models are rebadged as Vauxhalls. Opel also provides design and engineering to the American
Saturn marque, similar to the Vauxhall situation in the UK.
The company headquarters are located in
Rüsselsheim, and it has plants in
Bochum and
Eisenach and
Kaiserslautern as well as in
Belgium,
Spain,
Poland and
Hungary. Opel cars are also made in
Vauxhall's
Ellesmere Port plant in the
United Kingdom.
In October 2004 employees went on
strike for six days due to the threat of 12,000 job losses. The threat was due to the unprofitable European markets because of low customer demand. The strike had a major impact on production.
In 2005, the new Opel Astra Diesel
Hybrid appeared.
In 2006, the
Azambuja,
Portugal factory shut down and the production of the
Opel Combo transferred to
Zaragoza,
Spain. The move prompted a national boycott movement and caused the Portuguese Government to
sue General Motors.
General Motors announced in April 2008 that they'd invest EUR9 billion by 2012 in a bid to stop the market share erosion of the Opel brand in Europe. Approximately EUR6.5 billion is to be dedicated for the development of new models and engines, with plants in Ruesselsheim, Bochum, and Kaiserslautern slated to be modernized.
Opel Logo
The lightning bolt on the Opel badging is a reference to the famous Opel Blitz truck. The German word 'Blitz' means lightning or flash. The logo was originally a Zeppelin, which became more stylized, and as the Zepellin became less popular as a form of transport, the logo was changed. There is also a noticeable similarity between the winged Zeppelin and the lightning logo.
Starting with the
Opel Insignia, the Blitz logo will be updated. The border that's circling the ligtning bolt will be wider to incorporate the Opel name, and the surfaces will be more spherical to give the logo a three-dimensional look.
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Highlights
Safetec is a warp resistant passenger compartment. Constructs built into the front and back absorb the energy of low speed collisions. metal doors complete the system.
modal 2007
Gallery
Image:Opel 1,8-Liter Cabriolet 1931.jpg|Opel 1,8 Liter Serie 18 B Cabriolet 1931
Image:Opel Model 18B 1,8-Liter 4-Door Sedan 1931b.jpg|Opel 1,8 Liter Serie 18 B 4-Door Limousine 1931
Image:Opel Standard Special Coach 1935.jpg|Opel Standard Special Coach 1935
Image:Opel 4-Door Sedan 193X.jpg|Opel 2 Liter 4-Door Limousine
Image:Opel Regent Pullman-Limousine 1936.jpg|Opel 2 Liter Pullman-Limousine 1936
Image:Opel 2-Door Sedan 193X.jpg|Opel P4 Limousine
Image:Opel Kadett 1937.jpg|Opel Kadett Limousine 1937
Image:Opel Olympia Cabriocoach 1937.jpg|Opel Olympia Cabrio-Limousine 1937
Image:Opel Kadett 1938.jpg|Opel Kadett Limousine 1938
Image:Opel Olympia De Luxe Coach 1939.jpg|Opel Olympia De Luxe 2-Door Limousine 1939
Image:Opel Olympia De Luxe 1,5-Liter 4-Door Sedan 1939.jpg|Opel Olympia De Luxe 4-Door Limousine 1939
Image:Opel Kapitan Cabriolet 1939.jpg|Opel Kapitän Cabriolet 1939
Image:Opel Kapitan De Luxe 4-Door Sedan 1939.jpg|Opel Kapitän De Luxe 4-Door Limousine 1939
Image:Opel Rekord Cabriocoach 1955.jpg|Opel Rekord Cabrio-Limousine 1955
Image:Opel Kapitan R 1955.jpg|Opel Kapitän R 1955
Image:Opel Bus.jpg|Opel Bus
Image:Opel Rekord 1958.jpg|Opel Rekord 2-Door Sedan 1958
Image:Opel Kapitan P 1959.jpg|Opel Kapitän P 1959
Image:Opel Rekord2.jpg|Opel Rekord 1700 2-Door Sedan 1961
Image:Opel Rekord 1700 1962.jpg|Opel Rekord 1700 2-Dörrars Sedan 1962
Image:Opel Rekord 2-Door Sedan 1966.jpg|Opel Rekord 2-Door Sedan 1966
Image:Opel Rekord 3.jpg |Opel Rekord C, 1.7 L, 4-Door Sedan 1968
Image:Opel Commodore Coupe 1969.jpg|Opel Commodore Coupé 1969
Image:Opel Diplomat.JPG| Opel Diplomat Coupé
Further Information
Get more info on 'Opel'.
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