(first posted 2/26/2014) In a parallel universe, where GM made only rational decisions, this car would have a bowtie on the front grille instead of the Opel Blitz. Rather than pissing away billions (in today’s money) on the development of the Vega (CC here), and then losing billions of future sales and goodwill because of it, GM could have just done what it does now: go to Opel. How utterly obvious. So instead of being saddled with one of the all-time lemons of the century, Chevy could have been peddling a truly world-class small car in 1971. Live and learn. Or rather, die and learn.
The Opel Ascona was in development concurrently with the Vega, but they share absolutely nothing, except of course for certain styling cues. Chuck Jordan, future head of GM Design, was in charge of Opel design at the time, so that’s not surprising. Many of its lines are also to be found in GM’s Australian cars. At least the designers were cross-fertilizing. And the Vega was certainly cute enough; no problem there.
Bob Lutz was also at Opel during this time, which may well explain why the Ascona/1900/Manta have been universally praised for their fine handling. After Bob tossed the narrow-tracked Kadett on its head in 1966, the Ascona was lavished with an unflappable suspension. Nothing particularly radical; in fact fairly conventional, with rwd and a live rear axle. But the rear axle was particularly well controlled, and it all worked like a charm. The Ascona/1900 has often been called a poor-man’s BMW 2002; some feel that it handles every bit as well, if not better; the 2002’s semi-trailing arm rear suspension oversteer tendencies could be a handful. For the most part, the Vega was also a pretty decent handling car. But that’s where the two diverge.
Starting with their basic packaging. For some inexplicable reason, GM decided that the Camaro’s proportions – and resultant space utilization – would be the appropriate template for the Vega.
Well, actually, let’s make it even a bit lower than the Camaro, just for good measure; Americans want low, sporty small cars!
Which explains why VW was selling almost a half million Beetles a year, right? So the 1971 Camaro was 50.5″ tall, the Vega 50.0″. Brilliant! Ever try climbing into the back seat of one? They’ve named a yoga position after that maneuver.
And no stinking four doors! Americans don’t really want small cars, and we’re going to make damn sure of it.
The Ascona stood about a half foot taller than the Vega, which also meant that the Ascona/1900 could give up an inch in wheelbase, and five inches in length, and still feel roomier inside.
But we know better what Americans want. That’s why we make such fat salaries!
fuel injection in a small car?
And we know better what Americans want in small car engines. A high-tech tractor engine with an aluminum block and iron head!
Yes, the Vega engine’s maladies have been all-too well documented. And even when it ran, it sounded and felt agricultural, thanks to a long stroke and large displacement (2.3 L) that really would have needed balance shafts to be acceptably smooth. The Opel 1.9 L CIH (Cam In Head) four (above) may not have been quite up to the BMW’s standards, but it was a well-proven, smooth and willing power plant, and one that responded very favorably to a bit of tweaking.
Both versions were rated the same 90 (gross) hp in 1971. In its final year (1975) the Opel was even graced with Bosch fuel injection, as seen here.
Fuel injection? We tried and gave that up years ago. Useless, expensive, complicated crap…
The Opel 1900 had a successful career on the tracks, especially in the SCCA Showroom Stock class. And in Europe, it put on a good show on the rally circuit.
The Opel’s interior (this is a base model) was clean and straightforward, and had genuine upholstered doors and a nicely padded dash, instead of hard plastic. For the times, a very decent and competitive effort. And one didn’t have to slide into it. Never mind the superb visibility these cars had. And is that a three-speed automatic?
Heresy! Americans love the two-speed Powerglide, and we shall give it to them, even if it is now the seventies. And to further increase its appeal, we’ll make the Vega’s standard transmission a two-speed manual with overdrive. This is why we have the world’s biggest R&D budget and the finest automotive Tech Center in the Universe!
I’m not trying to place the Opel on a pedestal, and undoubtedly it had some weaknesses and faults like most cars of the time. But its fundamental balance and responsiveness to all inputs assure that almost anyone who ever drove one was left with happy memories. That includes its nicely-shifting standard four speed stick. Ooops; that same Opel transmission was optional in the Vega. I was wrong earlier; the two really did share something.
The Opel just went about its business in a competent, precise and fun-loving way. And it was pretty much an insider’s car in the US. Car and Driver raved about theirs, which they took racing. The numbers sold just didn’t amount to much, probably because GM didn’t care about importing Opels anymore, as if they ever really had. Back in 1967, the Kadett was the number two import in the US, despite Buick dealers being clueless. When the dollar’s value tanked against the German Mark in 1973, the jig was up. GM was losing money on every Opel imported. So starting in 1976, they looked the other way, to Japan, and started importing Isuzu Geminis/I-Marks, which were Kadetts built to Isuzu’s higher standards.
Buick Opel by Isuzu. We truly are the masters of the universe! And before long, we’ll import Opels from Korea: Pontiac LeMans by Daewoo.
The Isuzus were tough little cars; the diesel ones down-right legendary. But not really the thing to inspire fun, or even racing, unless it was a round-the-world-endurance-rally.
Speaking of endurance, it took awhile to start finding Opels in Eugene. I found the blue wagon out in the boonies first, but my friends (who live next door) suggested not getting too close, as the owner of the property had recently been arrested for shooting at the neighbor in the other direction neighbor. Rural life is so colorful. But I was willing to risk it for a blue Opel Sportswagon.
But here it was, a fine 1900 just outside of town; it just took a bicycle ride to make me go that particular way. Good thing it was yellow, or I might well have missed it. Thanks to a comment on this post, I even tracked down that Opel Manta I saw going down Willamette Street a few months ago (CC here). But my ultimate Opel dream was to find a Kadett. And since this post first ran, that dream was fulfilled, beyond my expectations: a Kadett Rallye 1900.
Back to the story line: re-writing history is easy. GM’s mistake was all-too obvious, but then we wouldn’t have had nearly as much fun if there hadn’t been a Vega. And then we can only imagine what GM would have done to Americanize the Opel:
We’ll give it Power steering, Powerglide, Power windows, Power seats, Power-less engines and Jet-Smooth ride. We know how to make it powerfully suitable for Americans…
Never mind; better we have unmolested memories of the real Opel 1900.
My understanding is that GM (and Ford) didn’t bring over European cars as their volume leaders because the build tolerances were unworkable in the American factories.
The vehicles and their drivetrains could not have been built to the required specifications.
I think I read somewhere that an Opel was once being looked at for a mainstream GM midsized car, but the management saw the fault tolerances as unworkable in the US factories.
That’s strictly in relation to the idea of having the Seville be based on the Opel Diplomat. Realistically, that’s a bit questionable of how true or relevant it was. In any case, it didn’t apply to these lesser Opels and if they had been built here in volumes, the tooling would have been new and had US-style tolerances.
I actually think that it might be true, but not for the reason everyone wants to imply. They’re trying to say that the Opel is so much better built that the US factories couldn’t build them. The real problem is in converting standards from metric to SAE standard. Any conversion will have rounding errors, and stacking tolerances could lead to it not fitting well after conversion. It was widely reported with the debut of the Chevette that it was the first vehicle built in the US by metric standards. It was also a world car. They didn’t want to convert a plant to metric just to build Sevilles.
Paul, I’m with you. And I think an International Size Cadillac should have taken the place of the senior Opels/Vauxhalls/Holdens when Cadillac was at the top of its game. That would have benefited both GM’s US and international operations. The non-US badges could easily stretch as high as Buick/Oldsmobile and Cadillac — remembering it was “The Standard of the World” — could cover the top of the market leaving it overall better prepared for what was to come. Without a doubt, Opels should have been built here wearing bow ties (and Pontiac shields, appropriately differentiated).
What a great mix of vehicles in that picture. The Opel, the RX7, the Accord and the (Rodeo?).
I’ve never been in a Vega. Or an Opel.
Probably never will be, so I live vicariously through you guys.
Did the Vega really come with a Powerglide? Blah.
Minor correction here: the standard transmission initially was a 3-speed manual. Perhaps you are confused with the Torque-Drive 2-speed, which was a Powerglide that required manual shifting. This type of tranny used to be known as a “Semi-Automatic”.Great article! I love the tongue-in-cheek attitude!
Technically it was a three speed manual. But the final drive ratio was so tall (low numerically) that it essentially functioned like a two speed with overdrive. (and that was of course written with a bit of tongue in cheek)
Yes, I’m also familiar with the Torque Drive, having written it up here:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/automotive-histories/automotive-history-chevrolets-torque-drive-a-dumber-powerglide/
No overdrive with that!
I knew what you meant. I like to read the period road tests where they talk about having to downshift to second for grades in cars with top speeds that barely touched 80 mph.
Hello. Well, I was going by the actual brochure description (from http://www.oldcarbrochures.com) , and my Partner who is an Auto Mechanic and repaired these cars when new at Dealerships. Yes, even Wikipedia can be inaccurate in some details! Thank you for your response. – By the way – I would LOVE a Vega “Cabrio” coupe model – the mini-Broughamtastic for 1976! Here’s a lovely one. Opel did not make these now, did they!
Technically speaking you are right. The 3-speed manual in the Vega was a wide-ratio transmission with direct 1:1 drive in top gear. I have my November 1970 Road & Track handy with a test of both a basic and a fancy Vega. The 3-speed, 1 barrel sedan had a final drive ratio of 2.53:1. That’s intergalactic. An automatic BMW 2002 in the November 1969 issue had a 3.64:1 ratio paired with its direct-drive top gear. The result was that the Vega could only pull 3,400 rpm in top, good for 88 mph. My current two liter sedan has more than twice the power of the 1970 Vega combined with a 6-speed manual with two over-drive gears. The final drive ratio is still so much lower than 6th gear isn’t as tall as 3rd gear was in the poor Vega.
It is a shame our auto industry was in Detroit. What kind of cars did we expect to emerge from a place without mountains, curves, road racing(not street racing) or culture?
Until currency movement made German Opels into loss-leaders, a poor man’s BMW was just a BMW. The 1600-2 was neither expensive nor fancy. In 1970, you could still pick up a 2002 for the price of a Valiant with a décor package and A/C. I will say that the interior photos of this Opel are much more inviting looking than interior photos of low-option Vegas, Pinto, or Crickets.
I truly enjoyed the several Opels that I had owned as a young driver. My Uncle and dad had them, modified, so I soon had a snarling 7,000 rpm beast with large dual Weber DCOEs. It was great fun to embarrass the new Camaros that were around. First was a Manta, then moved to a 1900, repainted in bright GM white, and a black interior complete with the extra optional VDO gauges added.
I suppose GM could have done a better job by not sharing the showroom with Buick. That was like getting an order of kimchi at Denny’s.
The dream would be to have an Ascona 400, look that up if you’re unfamiliar with these cars.
Years ago, when my younger brother went to college my father went out and found him a 1975 Opel 1900 Coupe. Little brother is more than useless when it comes to working on cars-he’s burned the motors up in several cars since because he’s too cheap and lazy to keep one up. Brother ran in for 2 years without any regular maintenance. He once had a carload of frat brothers with him and whilst off-roading he pinched the tailpipe so tight the engine wouldn’t run. They all had to hike down the mountain and walk back to school. The car once sat for 7 months because the clutch cable stretched enough that he couldn’t shift it. Fast forward a couple years and I gave him $200 for it and dragged it home. Put a clutch, clutch cable, pressure plate, throw out bearing, plugs and air filter in it and drove it the absolute snot out of it for almost 3 years. Fun as hell in the mountains-especially in a 4-wheel drift! Best damn car I’ve ever owned! Wish I had 2 or 3 more of them. One afternoon it hydroplaned in a curve and it was totaled in a head-on crash with a MB 450SL. Thankfully, we all walked away. I still miss that car…
My very first car in 1985 was an Opel Ascona 16S from 1975. It was for sale at the workshop where we parked the company vehicles at night. Bought it for about $450 and drove it for about 5 years. It was one of the last production models as it already had some parts (like brakes) from the Ascona B. It was a 2 door without the ridiculous american bumpers.
Somewhere early 90s switched to a Manta 1.8GT (B model). That one only left me standing beside the road when the camshaft broke. But luckily no engine damage.
My last private vehicle was a Vectra 1.8 (A-model).
My fondest memories go out to the Ascona and the Manta.
The simplicity and the ease (and room under the hood) to do maintenance.. No modern car can reach that level anymore.
A bit late to the party, but I was a huge Manta / Ascona fan. 1 Manta Rallye 2 wagons. The first wagon was purchased with a damaged front end and I put a Manta front on it (cut half way across the wheel well and up the “frame rail”.
KYB shocks, Monza exhaust, Michelin XZXs.
I miss that car still.
@Jim P. Better late, than never… I still have my ’75 Ascona. (photo above).
In regards to your ”Manta Wagon”… my dream car is a Mancona like this photo I found on the internet…
And here is my Manta wagon. A ’73.
Lets try this again; Here’s my ’73 manta wagon (it has a front bumper from a ’72).
No Gm didn’t want it to be an Opel 1900. They did that with the Chevette because they could put it out in 18 months.. The Vega was all new, better looking, better handling, better riding and more room, not to mention it came in a hatchback that didn’t look like it was chopped off at the back. (Pinto, Chevette, Pacer, Gremlin, etc.) No comparison.