There are many European car brands that have come and gone from the American market, Opel being one of many that had limited success in the U.S. compared to their European sales. Here’s a look into why they started selling the U.S. and how they got their start.
that sells high-end luxury cars for quite a bit of money. But, that's not all they've produced for our markets. In the past, they brought us affordable vehicles from Opel, a brand which not many people here remember.
However, Opel has been part of our automotive history for quite some time. How did the Opel brand begin, and what vehicles has it sold in America?
Where the Opel car brand began
Opel began as Adam Opel AG, a German company which focused on building and selling sewing machines in 1863. By 1887, though, the brand had branched out to bicycles as well. Automobiles didn't come until 1898 when they brought in Freidrich Lutzmann, an automobile designer, to help them produce cars.
However, the first couple of years, Opel vehicles weren't very pleasing to look at and they were awkward to operate. Sales weren't high, reaching a couple of dozen by the end of the first two years of producing automobiles.
By 1912, the company had built its 10,000th car. When WWI broke out, the brand switched to heavy truck production, which kept Opel busy for quite a while. The economic turmoil that set in after the war caused the company to produce a more economical car, which became a hit.
, Opel made 250 cars a day in 1929, after they brought on about 8,000 employees. The company continued to get bigger, but the family that started the brand cashed out and GM took a majority of its shares that year. The brand continued to be sold in Europe.
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Opel began selling its vehicles in America in 1958. However, it wasn't a great move, since the U.S. was in an economic recession at the time. Some brands, like Packard, folded under the weight of the collapse.
Still, the German brand produced the Rekord, which was reportedly inspired by the 1955 Chevy Bel Air with some nods to the Buick brand. It sported a inline-four engine that produced 56 hp, and the price for it came in at $1,987. However, Opel stopped producing it in 1961.
The year of 1971 saw another sporty vehicle launch: the 1900, which later became the Manta. This vehicle came in two versions; the Standard and the Rallye. However, currency exchange rates caused the base price to increase by 10%. The Manta ran for two years before production was stopped.
After that, the Opel brand seemed to disappear in America.
Where's Opel today?
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While we didn't see the Opel brand in the U.S. market, it was still there under other brand names. Under the Buick brand, parts of the Opel lived on with the Gemini and later the Isuzu I-Mark.
Opel provided blueprints to GM, who took over production for the American market. Opel continued to build its vehicles for the Europeans instead. The Senator was one model that the brand produced from 1982 until 1986 and was its high-end coupe model.
In 2017, after having cash troubles, GM gave up some of its sub-brands, one of them being Opel. Peugeot, the best-selling automaker in Portugal and Denmark, took over and continues to build Opel's insignia models, but only for the European market.
PSA also took on Fiat Chrysler (FCA), when it merged with the Peugeot group into a group now known as Stellantis.
Protecting your vehicle no matter what brand it is
While we don't see Opels on the American market today (except possibly through car collections), there are still brands that have Opel roots, like the Buick Regal and the Encore. To protect vehicles like these, it's important to have the right policy that doesn't break the bank.
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