American Learns About The German Car Brand - Opel

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[partista]

I can't believe they left out the 1970 Opel GT!!!! Incredible!!! One of the best looking cars in the world!!!

[PekkaSiltala]

Opels but right-hand-drives in UK are badged Vauxhall. Same cars.

[Kref]

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.

[JohnZonneveld]

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"

[Chris-xets]

I missed the Omega Lotus which was a sub 6s Omega build by Lotus. I was mindblown as a small kid.

[petar_d]

The Calibra deserves the most attention, it is the all time best Opel car with very futuristic design for its time, amazing aerodynamics.

[foxypl]

The original opel GT was probably the one car opel is known for in the US, it was their best seller there

[Yvolve]

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.

[ChRnos_]

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)

[sehrguterTyp]

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 ❤️

[ManWithBeard]

If memory serves, the Opel Speedster was built on the same platform as the Lotus Elise.

[gglol_rblx]

Fun fact, if u didnt notice, under the names are letters like B, H, J, K, its cuz opel over the years went by alphabet with models, Corsa A, B;C;D;E;F, Astra F;G;H;I;J;K

[vinylDJ]

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.

[MirkoC]

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.

[huwdavies]

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.

[igornvidal]

Here in Brazil they were ALL branded Chevrolet. Astra, Omega, Kadett, Corsa...

[deadmanschest]

the Opel GT (1968 - 1973) is missing. that car was a beauty

[tonycasey]

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.

[markusbaumgartner]

Finally! I am still driving my Opel Astra from 1999, and I absolutely love this car - everyone in my family always had an Opel.

[gustavmeyrink_.]

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