Bye bye Opel...

Wait....

Opel is Germany's oldest car maker?.. where do you get that little nugget of misinformation from...
 
Opel first started making sewing machines and other household stuff in 1863 and moved to cars in the late 1890's.

You forgot that while Karl Benz did make the first car in 1886 the Mercedes-Benz brand name only came into existence in 1926.

This will put things nicely into perspective : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_German_cars
 
I think this is a move on GM's part to distance itself from the Opel brand, since Opel itself is probably the most profitable brand for GM, even in South Africa, I mean how many Corsa's and Astra's do you see on the road VS. Chev's? Because I honestly see Corsa's all over, same for the Astra, way more than any Chev.

That said, rumors are Opel is being sold or that the German government will bail them out with the condition that the GM group never see any of that money, GM can't like that. Especially since they need the money now!

Seriously though it will be a hard knock for GM to lose Opel, the engines made by Opel (Any EcoTec engine) is used on most of the GM cars sold these days (well all the non-fuel guzzlers), I suppose they'll own the IP on those engines but the next batch will obviously belong to Opel leaving GM to start up their own low volume high output engine development, that can't be cheap.

Hopefully Opel can get out from under the grip of GM, then GM can die in peace.
 
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Gnome said:
I think this is a move on GM's part to distance itself from the Opel brand, since Opel itself is probably the most profitable brand for GM, even in South Africa, I mean how many Corsa's and Astra's do you see on the road VS. Chev's? Because I honestly see Corsa's all over, same for the Astra, way more than any Chev.
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Opel is indeed the most profitable brand in GM. Chevs in SA are rebadged Deawoos. Opel has been around for longer than most car makers and while it is not the worlds best auto maker it has achieved some pretty amazing things in it's 146 years of existence.

For the fun of it, check out the Opel Fahrrad :
OpelFahrrad.JPG


Gnome said:
That said, rumors are Opel is being sold or that the German government will bail them out with the condition that the GM group never see any of that money, GM can't like that. Especially since they need the money now!
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Opel is planning to reorganize itself as a joint-stock company. GM would basically give up between 25-50 percent of its stake in the spun off company, with the hope that outside investors would make up the rest.
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/02/27/opel-to-spin-off-gm-will-retain-stake/

Gnome said:
Seriously though it will be a hard knock for GM to lose Opel, the engines made by Opel is used on most of the GM cars sold these days (well all the non-fuel guzzlers), I suppose they'll own the IP on those engines but the next batch will obviously belong to Opel leaving GM to start up their own low volume high output engine development, that can't be cheap.
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True, not only did Opel make the GM Family 0, 1 and II (ecotec) engines they also contributed a lot to the shared platform initiative, GM Delta, Epsilon and Gamma platforms are largely the work of Opel. The GM Premium platform, currently used in the Alfa Brera, was a joint venture between Opel, Fiat and SAAB (now known as DEAD-SAAB).
 
Ok, Opel making sewing machines or whatever doesn't make them the oldest CAR maker in Germany...

Thats just rubbish.. they are an old company, but they're not the oldest car maker in Germany, not by a long shot...
 
Keeper said:
I was under the impression that opel was surviving the credit crunch, now some of their models are moving outta the country as well? what's next, my beloved Peugeot?

The only models I know are the corsa, astra and bakkie - don't even know what their Meriva, Zafira and Tigra look like, so no surprise they taking it away :p

SA is more of a Toyota and VW country.
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It's not Opel's fault, really. Opel is distributed by GM in SA, so it's GM that made the call. The Tigra was launched a while before the new Corsa and is based on the same platform, iirc. You should've seen a few around - it's that small CC-like car that mostly yuppy girls drive around in.

The Meriva and Zafira are MPVs - I see quite a few of them around on the roads. Think Avanza or smallish Scenic... :p

I'm not a fan of French cars anymore though. Parts are hellishly expensive and you have to wait ages for the stuff to be imported. Seems like I'll most likely stay a fan of the Jap-cars though, except Toyota. I moved from:

Toyota (Years of service) -> Citroën (Too expensive) -> Toyota (FTL) -> Honda (FTW!)
 
ToxicBunny said:
Ok, Opel making sewing machines or whatever doesn't make them the oldest CAR maker in Germany...

Thats just rubbish.. they are an old company, but they're not the oldest car maker in Germany, not by a long shot...
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You're just saying that because I proved you wrong and you hate when I do that :D

Did you not get my middle name? Its MR Perfect :cool:
 
Crappy news. As long as it doesn't affect my ability to service/get spares for the Corsa OPC it doesn't worry me as I intend to keep the car ;)
 
I disagree with your statement about South Africa being VW/Toyota country. Opel is very popular in SA. I see hundreds on the roads everyday and up until recently they were reasonably priced which let's face it is the main criteria when an everyday consumer buys a car.
 
Iwojima said:
Crappy news. As long as it doesn't affect my ability to service/get spares for the Corsa OPC it doesn't worry me as I intend to keep the car ;)
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*cries* I would have loved to have had one of those cars. You have wonderful taste.
:)
 
Rouxenator said:
You're just saying that because I proved you wrong and you hate when I do that :D

Did you not get my middle name? Its MR Perfect :cool:
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Please explain how I'm wrong?

They made sewing machines.. how does that make them a CAR maker?... Thats something I'd like to know

and no, as much as you would like to think you're Mr Perfect.. you're not... you're wrong a HELL of a lot of the time, and are called on it often.
 
Serqet said:
*cries* I would have loved to have had one of those cars. You have wonderful taste.
:)
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They might come back, but only that time round they'll wear an american bow-tie.

ToxicBunny said:
Please explain how I'm wrong?
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1) Wikipedia says so and 2) I say so.

ToxicBunny said:
and no, as much as you would like to think you're Mr Perfect.. you're not... you're wrong a HELL of a lot of the time, and are called on it often.
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Look, its your word against mine.
Now repect my authoritha! :p
 
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Yay!!! No more oil stains in parking lots!!:D
But sad really... Opel just went belly up since GM bought them...
 
Well after a little bit of research i have discovered this:

Opel are one of Germany's oldest car manufacturers (1863) and manufactured their first motor vehicle in 1899.

But the oldest car company is Benz & CIE. Karl Benz invented the Motor Car and patented it in January 1886.

Benz built a vehicle with gas-engine drive in 1886. So therefore Benz would indeed have to be considered the oldest manufacturer.
 
Serqet said:
I disagree with your statement about South Africa being VW/Toyota country. Opel is very popular in SA. I see hundreds on the roads everyday and up until recently they were reasonably priced which let's face it is the main criteria when an everyday consumer buys a car.
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Through polarized glasses there are many Opels on the road but not when compared to sales figures.

SA is VW/Toyota country. ;)
 
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