Opel

Opel Automobile GmbH is a German automobile manufacturer. The company was founded in Rüsselsheim, Hesse, Germany, on 21 January 1862, by Adam Opel. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017. Opel traces its roots to a sewing machine manufacturer founded by Adam Opel in 1862 in Rüsselsheim am Main. The company began manufacturing bicycles in 1886 and produced its first automobile in 1899. With the Opel RAK program, the world's first rocket program, under the leadership of Fritz von Opel, the company played an important role in the history of aviation and spaceflight: Various land speed records were achieved, and the world's first rocket-powered flights were performed in 1928 and 1929. After listing on the stock market in 1929, General Motors took a majority stake in Opel and then full control in 1931, making the automaker a wholly owned subsidiary, establishing an American ownership of the German automaker for nearly 90 years Together with British manufacturer Vauxhall Motors, which GM had acquired in 1925, the two companies formed the backbone of GM's European operations – later merged formally in the 1980s as General Motors Europe. In the beginning, Opel produced sewing machines. Opel launched a new product in 1886: he began to sell high-wheel bicycles. Opel's two sons participated in high-wheel bicycle races, thus promoting this means of transportation. In 1888, production was relocated from a cowshed to a more spacious building in Russelsheim. The production of high-wheel bicycles soon exceeded the production of sewing machines. At the time of Opel's death in 1895, he was the leader in both markets. The first cars were designed in 1898 after Opel's widow Sophie and their two eldest sons entered into partnership with Friedrich Lutzmann, who had been working on automobile designs for some time. The first Opel production Car was built in Russelsheim early 1899, although these cars were not very successful (A total of 65 motor cars were delivered: 11 in 1899, 24 in 1900 and 30 in 1901) and the partnership was dissolved after two years, following which Opel signed a licensing agreement in 1901 with the French Automobiles Darracq France to manufacture vehicles under the brand name Opel Darracq. These cars consisted of Opel bodies mounted on Darracq chassis, powered by two-cylinder engines. The company first showed cars of its own design at the 1902 Hamburg Motor Show, and started manufacturing them in 1906, with Opel Darracq production being discontinued in 1907. In 1909, the Opel 4/8 PS model, known as the Doktorwagen ("Doctor's Car") was produced. Its reliability and robustness were appreciated by physicians, who drove long distances to see their patients back when hard-surfaced roads were still rare. The Doktorwagen sold for only 3,950 marks, about half as much as the luxury models of its day. Opel's cars were initially tested on public roads which then led to complaints. Under public pressure, Opel began construction of a test oval in 1917. The track was completed in 1919 but not opened to the public until 24 October 1920 under the official name of Opel-Rennbahn, or Opel Race Track in English. In the early 1920s, Opel became the first German car manufacturer to incorporate a mass-production assembly line in the building of their automobiles. In 1924, they used their assembly line to produce a new open two-seater called the Laubfrosch (tree frog) It was finished exclusively in green lacquer. The car sold for an expensive 3,900 marks (expensive considering the less expensive manufacturing process), but by the 1930s, this type of vehicle would cost a mere 1,930 German Marks. Opel had a 37.5% market share in Germany and was also the country's largest automobile exporter in 1928. The "Regent" – Opel's first eight-cylinder car – was offered. The RAK 1 and RAK 2 rocket-propelled cars made sensational record-breaking runs. The Great Depression led to an end of the Opel-RAK program, but Max Valier continued the efforts. After switching from solid-fuel to liquid-fuel rockets, he died while testing and is considered the first fatality of the dawning space age. The technology was confiscated by the German military in 1935. In March 1929, General Motors (GM), impressed by Opel's modern production facilities, bought 80% of the company. The Opel family gained $33.3 million from the transaction. Subsequently, during 1935, a second factory was built at Brandenburg for the production of "Blitz" light trucks. In 1929 Opel licensed design of the radical Neander motorcycle, and produced it as the Opel Motoclub in 1929 and 1930, using Küchen, J.A.P., and Motosacoche engines. Fritz von Opel famously attached solid-fuel rockets to his Motoclub in a publicity stunt, riding the rocket-boosted motorcycle at the Avus racetrack. In 1931 – after acquiring the rest of the shares – General Motors took over the full ownership of Adam Opel AG, making the company a wholly owned subsidiary, and later, in 1935, Opel became the first German car manufacturer to produce over 100,000 vehicles a year. This was based on the popular Opel P4 model. The selling price was a mere 1,650 marks and the car had a 23 PS (17 kW) 1.1 L four-cylinder engine and a top speed of 85 km/h (53 mph). Opel also produced the first mass-production vehicle in Germany with a “unibody” all-steel body, closely following the 1934 Citroën Traction Avant. This was one of the most important innovations in automotive history. The car was launched in 1935 and named the Olympia. With its small weight and aerodynamics came an improvement in both performance and fuel consumption. Opel received a patent on this technology. The 1930s was a decade of growth, and by 1937, with 130,267 cars produced, Opel's Rüsselsheim plant was Europe's top car plant in terms of output, while ranking seventh worldwide. 1938 saw the presentation of the highly successful Kapitän. With a 2.5 L six-cylinder engine, all-steel body, front independent suspension, hydraulic shock absorbers, hot-water heating (with electric blower), and central speedometer. 25,374 Kapitäns left the factory before the intensification of World War II brought automotive manufacturing to a temporary stop in the autumn of 1940, by order of the government. After the end of the war, with the Brandenburg plant dismantled and transported to the Soviet Union, and 47% of the buildings in Rüsselsheim destroyed, former Opel employees began to rebuild the Rüsselsheim plant. The first postwar Opel Blitz truck was completed on 15 July 1946 in the presence of United States Army General Geoffrey Keyes and other local leaders and press reporters. Opel's Rüsselsheim plant also made Frigidaire refrigerators in the early post-war years. The Kadett A was reintroduced in 1962, with deliveries beginning on 2 October, a little more than 22 years after the original model was discontinued in May 1940.[10] The new car was a small family car like its predecessor, although it was now available in two-door saloon, three-door estate and coupé versions. The Kadett B was launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show in late 1965 The Kadett B was larger all-round than the Kadett A: 5% longer both overall and in terms of the wheelbase, 7% wider and 9% heavier (unladen weight), albeit 10 mm (0.39 in) lower in basic standard "Limousine" (sedan/saloon) form. Production ended in July 1973, with the successor model introduced a month later following the summer shut-down, in August. The two-seat Opel GT introduced at the end of 1968, was heavily based on Kadett B components, its body made by a French contractor, Brissonneau & Lotz, at their Creil factory. The Manta A was released in September 1970, two months ahead of the then new Opel Ascona on which it was based. A competitor to the Ford Capri, it was a two-door coupé, and featured distinctive round tail lights, quite similar to those on the Opel GT The Kadett C appeared in August 1973. It was the last small Opel to feature rear-wheel drive, and remained in production at Opel's Bochum plant until July 1979, by which time Opel had produced 1,701,076. Of these, 52% had been exported outside West Germany,] most of them to markets in other parts of western Europe The Manta B was launched in August 1975. This two-door car was mechanically based directly on the then newly redesigned Opel Ascona, but the overall design was influenced by the 1975 Chevrolet Monza. The Manta had more "sporty" styling, including a droop-snoot nose not seen on the Ascona. . The 1973 version of the Opel Kadett C was introduced as hatchback, saloon, and estate form It was sold as the Vauxhall Chevette in the UK market, with German factories producing the Opel versions. The Opel Ascona of this era was sold on the UK market (and produced in both British and continental factories) as the Vauxhall Cavalier. Both of these cars had mild styling changes, as did the flagship Opel Rekord and Vauxhall Carlton saloon and estate ranges which went on sale towards the end of the 1970s. In the 1990s, Opel was considered to be GM's cash cow, with profit margins similar to that of Toyota. Opel's profit helped to offset GM's losses in North America and to fund GM's expansion into Asia. 1999 was the last time when Opel was profitable for the full year for almost 20 years. The Calibra coupé was introduced in 1989 and a Corsa-based coupe, the Tigra, was launched in 1994. In 1999, Opel unveiled its first true sports car, the Speedster (Vauxhall VX220 in the UK) based on the Lotus Elise. However, it was not a success, and was axed in 2005. The company moved into the city car market in early 2000 with the launch of the Agila. On 29 February 2012, Opel announced the creation of a major alliance with PSA Peugeot Citroen resulting in GM taking a 7% share of PSA, becoming PSA's second-largest shareholder after the Peugeot family. Opel's plant in Bochum closed in December 2014, after 52 years of activity and on the 16th of January 2021, Opel became part of Stellantis, following the merger of its parent company PSA Group with Italian-American group Fiat Chrysler