Quick History: Buick Imports. Remember The Buick Rekord?

[Perian]

Link: http://www.examiner.com/x-14112-Alle...years-part-two

Vintage Rekord Advertisement: http://www.adclassix.com/ads/60buickopel2.htm

Vintage Buick Rekord Brochure: http://www.kitfoster.com/images/2007...rWeb-Large.jpg

Adam Opel, General Motors German subsidiary, was founded in 1863 as a sewing machine and bicycle manufacturer in Russelsheim, not coincidentally, by Adam Opel. The first Opel cars were built in 1899 and only 14 years later they were the largest producer of automobiles in Germany. By 1931, General Motors had purchased 100% of Opel after an earlier purchase of a controlling interest. World War II saw the Opel factories seized by the German government then bombed by the Allies before the end of the war. After the war, some of the Opel manufacturing capacity wound up in Russian hands while the rest was in western hands. A new home factory was built in 1950 as production began to spool up.

In 1958, Opel made the official trip to America landing in Buick dealers with the Opel Rekord. The Rekord had a 100-inch wheelbase and a 174-inch overall length. It weighed 2,010 pounds. It was powered by a 91-cubic inch (1.4-liter) four cylinder engine and was available in sedan and wagon models. Its styling was similar to the Vauxhall and used many “Americanized” cues like multi-tone paint schemes and a wrap-around windshield. Again, it was a success in its home market, but did little damage to VWs sales charts.

Instead of folding the tents when the domestic compacts were introduced, GM continued to bring Opels over for Buick dealers to peddle. After the Rekord, which in Germany was a mid-sized car, the Opel Kadett was introduced to America. The Kadett B was available in several body styles, including a two-door fastback coupe. Engine choices were expanded over the Rekord and during its run the Kadett could be had with a 1.1-liter, 1.5-liter, 1.7-liter and finally a 1.9-liter cam-in-head four cylinder engine. Four-speed manual and automatic transmissions were available except with the largest engine which could only be had with the manual transmission. The Kadett lasted from 1967 to 1972 at your local Buick dealer and was joined by a new and stylish sports car in 1968, the Opel GT.

The GT was a styling sensation and hid its pedestrian Kadett underpinnings very well. The GT looked like a miniature Corvette which was also all new for 1968. The GTs body was built by the French company, Brissonneau & Lotz and was an all steel unit body like other Opels. The base engine was the 1.1-liter four cylinder unit with the 1.9-liter engine as an option that turned out 102 horsepower. Manual and automatic transmissions were available with the larger engine while the smaller mill was available only with the manual transmission. The GT had concealed head lights that were rotated into position manually with a lever next to the floor-mounted shift lever. While it had no trunk lid, there was a fair amount of cargo room behind the seats due to the fastback body style. While not intended to fight off VW directly in the sales race, though comparisons between the GT and the Karmann Ghia were made, the GT certainly created a lot of interest in Opels.

The Opel Manta was introduced in the U.S. in 1971 and was a snappy looking two-door coupe styled with help from American Chuck Jordan. The Manta was meant to compete with the Capri from Ford and other sporty compacts that were becoming popular at the time. Equipped with the 1.9-liter four cylinder engine like the GT and other Opel models, the Manta could be had with two equipment packages over and above the standard level of trim. The Rallye version included a complete gauge cluster, styled steel wheels, stripes, fog lights, a performance exhaust system and a different rear axle ratio for better acceleration. The Luxus version utilized more sound deadening and soft corduroy upholstery giving the Manta more of a luxury flavor than a sporting one. The Manta lasted until 1975 in the United States

Along with the Manta, by shuffling some sheet metal and some name badges, Opel developed the 1900. It sprang from a European market Ascona to produce a sedan and wagon to sell alongside the flashy Manta. While good cars, they were unremarkable and even with the introduction of fuel injection to the Opel line, 1975 would be the last year for European Opels at Buick dealers.

One last Opel-badged car came to the United States but it wasn’t from Germany. The General Motors T-car, known in America as the Chevrolet Chevette and Pontiac T-1000, was the basis for a large number of cars in Europe and Asia including some well respected high-performance cars along with their more pedestrian counterparts like the Isuzu Gemini. It was the Gemini that would provide the fender where the last Opel badge would hang in the United States and was known as the Isuzu/Opel. By 1980, Opels in America were no more, replaced by the next wave of compact cars from GM, the X-cars.

GM sold a good number of Opels in the U.S. in over the 20 year period that they were offered here. They did not run the other imports out of town though, and eventually the Japanese would turn the tables on these captive imports and show them the door. Opel still makes some excellent cars, supplying them to world-wide markets with a notable exception; America. Since 1980, only two Opels have made the trip stateside but they weren’t called Opels. The unlamented Cadillac Catera and the Saturn Astra, which is now discontinued, were products of Opel design and construction.

Other imports would join the GM family in the United States, but for now Europe would not be sending them.

[Slideways]

I saw a Manta for sale recently, it would be awesome to have one of those as a track car!

[doh]

I don't remember the Rekord.

But I do remember the likes of the Ford Capri, A Pinto competion, eventually sold as a Mercury version of the Mustang.

The Cricket, not just a lighter anymore

The Lemans, GM"s first marriage with Daewoo,

GEO, I personally own one for the kids

[GM-10]

Seriously fascinating!

I know GM through and through....so I thought.


I knew the 60's-70's Opel connection!

This is GMI at its best!

Great find...Great story!

My only question is how much Mgescuro hates it since it isn't a Benz or Jag.

[peterj2706]

Owned both a GT and a Manta. The GT was a great little car, I just out grew it (in girth I'm ashamed to say), I loved the Manta, amazing suspension. Too bad the local Buick dealer just didn't have the techs to fix it. After 3 months, they finally called in a tech from Opel Germany, took him 20 minutes to diagnos it (bent man shaft in the manual transmission). After that it was a charm. Really missed Opel when Buick dropped them. When I was in Europe years later had one as a rental, and loved it. Another of GM's lost directions...

[AndrewGS]

What goes around, comes around.



I just hope GM can continue to collaborate with Opel and one day return them to the family.

[RedVee8]

Were they called Opel, or Buick-Opel?

[minnfang]

Great find! I've never heard of the Buick Rekord.

One of my Dad's friends owned a body shop back in the 70s and he was into Opels. He had taken a rather plain looking 1900 sedan and replaced the whole front clip with Manta parts, it was a total bolt-on. He also painted it a better color and put Manta wheels on it. The car looked great - kind of a small sports sedan (before they were popular in the US).

[LS4]

Originally Posted by RedVee8

Were they called Opel, or Buick-Opel?

It was Buick-Opel. I had a GT, too. Fun car and one of the easiest manual trannies to shift WITHOUT the clutch!

[SigEpCutlass]

My mom's first new car was an Opel Manta she custom ordered. My mom loved that car, but my dad hated it. Why? Just about every day my dad would come home from work, take off his suit and put on overalls to get under that car to fix something. My dad said he replaced just about everything under the sun on that car.

[Caddyguy57]

My Mom bought a brand new 1966 Opel Kadett from our local Buick dealer. Had a neat option where you could slide the radio out of the dash, and take it with you to the beach and listen to some groovy 60's sounds. Then just slide it back in the dash and away you go!

[nadepalma]

Originally Posted by GM-10

Seriously fascinating!

I know GM through and through....so I thought.

I knew the 60's-70's Opel connection!

This is GMI at its best!

Great find...Great story!

Agreed. This was a great piece with some great detail. Thanks for posting it Perian!

[JiveMonkey]

Very interesting. That Manta is a beauty.

[Eric77TA]

Wow, more Opel owners than you'd expect! My parents both had Opels. My dad had a Manta Rallye and my mom had a 1900 SportWagon.

The wagon was fuel injected and I remember it being an absolute pain to get it started in below freezing weather.

I was the exact right height that I could stand on the passenger seat (with my head touching the headliner) and it was secure enough that you could ride standing up even in fairly heavy cornering. Boy, those were different times...

[fyreline]

I remember when the Rekord was sold in Buick showrooms, but I never remember it being called a Buick or Buick-Opel Rekord - Just Opel Rekord. Pontiac sold the Vauxhall Victor from about 1957 to 1961. I don't believe Oldsmobile got a "captive import" during that time period - at least not in the USA. I think Olds dealers also got the Vauxhall in Canada.