The Manta returned in a single version, as did the Sport Wagon. The only other models in the lineup were the Manta coupes, still available in Luxus, Rallye and standard versions.ġ975 was the end of the line for German Opels in America. In addition to the aforementioned GT, all 1900 models were gone, save the 1900 wagon, which was renamed the Manta Sport Wagon. Some Opels returned for 1974, but the lineup was severely pruned. There would be no mini-Corvette for 1974. The two-seat Opel GT ( CC here) was also in its last year, a victim of declining sales and stricter bumper regulations.
Buick opel manta for sale full#
This was the last year for a full lineup, as inflation and the rise of the German mark were making Opels a much harder sell. In addition to the top-trim Luxus shown above, there was a basic coupe and a Rallye version with blacked-out hood, stripes and fog lamps.įor 1973, the Kadetts were gone, with only the 1900 nee Ascona available to US customers. The 1900 coupe (which was renamed the Manta in ’73) was especially sharp. The ex-Kadett continued as a two-door sedan and two-door wagon both would disappear after 1972. The Ascona/1900 was a bit bigger and sleeker than the ‘Opel’ and included a new four-door sedan in addition to two-door sedan and wagon models. In 1971, the new Opel Ascona was introduced (dubbed the Opel 1900 in the US) and the Kadett became just an Opel.
Amazing that this car is still in the area after 43 years.ĭue to rising exchange rates (and perhaps partly due to Car and Driver’s gleefully negative article on the Kadett wagon) Opel sales started to slide in the US starting in about 1970. The chrome dealer tag on the back is from Schwind-Boeker, a former Buick-Cadillac dealer in Davenport that closed in the late ’80s. The vinyl top was in nicer shape than the paint! It’s a local car too. It is in remarkably nice shape, other than the faded red paint and a little rust on the bottom of the front fenders. After getting permission to take some photos, I headed outside to check it out. The nice lady behind the counter told me that it was a 1969 model, and that the owner was trying to get it functional. So I was very surprised to see this Kadett. They were well-built, but their economical nature meant that most of them were driven into the ground and retired decades ago. Now, other than a lime green Manta I last saw four or five years ago, I have not seen any Opels around here. I spotted our featured CC a couple of days ago, sitting in front of a repair shop. In 1968, a fastback was added, looking an awful lot like a 3/4 scale Nova. Opel hung on, and with the introduction of the Kadett B ( detailed CC here) saw a brief renaissance in the US import market. Vauxhall was the first casualty, disappearing from American shores in about 1961. Now, once again, why did they do that? GM had so much cash at the time, why didn’t they invest in free-standing dealerships? How many Bonneville buyers were going to cross-shop a Victor? How many people looking at Electra convertibles were going to decide to buy a Kadett? It’s like GM handicapped their European imports from the get-go. For whatever reason, Pontiac dealers got the Vauxhall brand and Buick dealers got Opel.
GM, the land yacht champeen, decided it wouldn’t be a bad idea to start selling some of their European makes in the States. Of course, VW sales went even further through the roof. Even obscure brands, such as Citroen, Hillman and Skoda, saw sales increase. Maybe it was because domestic iron was getting just too big and gaudy, or maybe it had something to do with the 1958 recession and cutting household costs, but at any rate many folks were suddenly buying foreign cars. In the late Fifties, there was a surge of interest in imported cars in the United States.
So why did they decide to have Buick dealers sell something so anti-Buick as an Opel? An Opel, sold in Buick dealerships, for crying out loud!Īs most of our Curbside Commentators know, Vauxhall (UK) and Opel (Germany) were GM’s bread-and-butter European divisions. They could have done anything they wanted. Deep, deep pockets, technological know-how and widespread popularity. Between the 1940s and 1960s, they were an industrial powerhouse.
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