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The Opel franchises in America were terminated in 1975. A year later, one Dallas Buick dealer still had five Opel Mantas for sale; years of Texas sun had bleached all the color out of the vehicles’ velour interior and created cracks in the vinyl dashes.
Still, it was hard to believe that Opel could have died so soon after its American debut. After all, not many years before its demise in America, it had outsold Volkswagen in Germany. Besides, Opels had a reputation for gas economy, and America was still reeling a little from the shock of the 300 percent increase in gasoline prices as a result of the oil embargo just two and a half years earlier. And yet Opels were virtually un-sellable; their 1975 window stickers had grown as high as the 1975 Buick Regal’s – and Baby Boomers found the Regal much more appealing. Yet, although Opels were sold in the U. S. for only 17 years, starting in 1958, even today the brand name still resonates with the public. The same can’t be said of other imported car lines that failed during the same period, such as France’s Simca, Peugeot or Renault. Moreover, though the nameplate failed in the States, in many other parts of the world Opel engineering and design form one of the keystones in General Motors’ international success. GM may be losing money in Europe, but Opel’s designs can be found around the globe. The popularity of GM’s Opel-designed car lines in Latin America is one of the major bright spots in the company’s portfolio.Fast LearnersAdam Opel GmbH, named after its founder, had been created in 1863 as a manufacturer of sewing machines and by 1885 it had branched out into bicycles. When Adam Opel died in 1895, his firm was the leading manufacturer of both products across Germany. Four years later his wife and his sons decided to add automobiles to their company’s products. First they partnered with another German inventor, then they purchased chassis from Darracq of France, adding only their bodies to the final product. However, the Opel boys were quick learners and by 1906 they were building their own vehicles, designed in house. Within four years, their success led them to stop producing sewing machines and build a new automobile plant. And on the eve of the Great War two years later, Opels were the best selling automobiles in Germany. Their success was such that even Germany’s massive postwar economic problems didn’t keep Opel from installing the first modern assembly line in Germany in 1924.It would be those modern production facilities that attracted General Motors five years later. Did $33M Cover Image Damage, Too?GM would acquire 80 percent of Opel’s stock in 1929 and the remaining 20 percent in 1931. Then came the Second World War – during which, history incorrectly reports, the Nazis completely seized American property in Germany. I say "incorrectly" because GM’s president, Alfred Sloan, and VPs John Smith and Graeme Howard remained on Opel’s German board during the war.
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