At the beginning, Opel just produced sewing machines in a cowshed in Rüsselsheim.

In 1909, the Opel 4 / 8 hp model, known as the " Doctor's Car " was produced.

Opel also produced the first mass-production vehicle with a self-supporting all steel body.

World War II brought to Rüsselsheim the only year in the entire history of Opel – 1945 – in which it produced no vehicles at all, since that first Lutzmann-authored Opel was made in 1899.

The combination of Opel know-how with GM resources had produced outstanding results.

The products produced by Adam Opel AG should be solely within the jurisdiction of management, and if prices had to be approved by government authority, a reasonable return on the capital should be allowed.

Historically Valmet Automotive has produced cars for Saab Automobile, Talbot, Renault, Lada, Opel and Porsche.

* Vauxhall VX220 ( badged Opel Speedster outside of the UK ) – Lotus produced and based upon the same aluminium chassis design as the Lotus Elise.

A high proportion of Vauxhall-branded vehicles sold in the UK are produced at Opel factories in Germany, Spain and Poland, and roughly 80 % of Vauxhall production is exported, most of which is sold under the Opel brand.

A version of the Viva HC, called the Chevrolet Firenza, was produced in South Africa, where it offered the British 1. 3 or a Opel 1. 9 L engine.

This was essentially a four-door Opel Astra G ( the model which was introduced as a Vauxhall / Opel in 1998 and was produced until 2004 ).

Although the Chevette was largely a rebadged Opel Kadett C with revised front-end ( detailed below ), it did use the 1256 cc overhead valve ( OHV ) engine of the Viva instead of the Kadett's units, which were produced by Opel.

The Opel Vectra is a large family car that was engineered and produced by Opel.

The first generation of Cavalier, launched in 1975 and produced until 1981, was based on the existing Opel Ascona with a few minor visual differences.

The second generation of Cavalier, launched in 1981 and produced until 1988, was launched simultaneously with the identical new generation of Opel Ascona.

The third and final generation of Cavalier, launched in 1988 and produced until 1995, was based on the first generation of Opel Vectra with the same production span.

Launched with a 1, 584 cc engine as a 1976 model in November 1975, the Cavalier was a restyled version of the German Opel Ascona, produced initially at the Opel plant in Antwerp, Belgium.

The Opel Kadett is a small family car produced by the German automobile manufacturer Opel between 1937 and 1940, and then again from 1962 until 1991 ( Cabrio 1993 ), when it was replaced by the Opel Astra.

It effectively took the place of several models that Audi had discontinued ( the F103 series, which included the first model designated as an " Audi 80 "), and provided the company with a viable rival to the Opel Ascona and the Ford Taunus.

* Affection for automobiles, especially older versions of the BMW 3, BMW 5, VW Golf ( most likely Mk2, recently also newer generations ), or the Opel Calibra, but also other older German cars ( as e. g. Mercedes W124 or Audi 80 ), or — in the case of the poorer dresiarze before accession to the European Union — a modified Polish Fiat 126p.

1935 was also the year in which Opel became the first German car manufacturer to produce over 100, 000 vehicles a year.

In 1953, output rose above 100, 000 units for the first time since the war, and in 1954, when the sprawling plant by the Main River was considered completely rebuilt, 24, 270 were employed at Adam Opel AG and 167, 650 vehicles were built — an all-time high.

Opel operates 11 vehicle, powertrain, and component plants and four development and test centers in seven countries, and employs around 39, 000 people, with more than 22, 000 of them in Germany.

Around 7, 000 people are responsible for the engineering and design of Opel vehicles at the International Technical Development Center ( ITDC ) and Opel Design Center in Rüsselsheim.

Consider a Chevrolet car that cost $ 25, 000 to produce in the USA ( that does not have a VAT, but does have 10 % Sales Tax ) and an Opel car that costs $ 25, 000 to produce in Germany ( that does have 20 % VAT ).

Going on sale in 1985, this very rare experimental version ( 1, 000 units planned ) were officially built by Irmscher rather than Opel.

The asking price for the basic 1. 8 SX was £ 11, 000-around £ 4, 000 less than the equivalent Ford Mondeo and Opel / Vauxhall Vectra.

The Opel GT was equipped with a base 1. 1 L OHV straight-4 engine, which produced 67 hp ( SAE ) at 6, 000 rpm.

Opel kept building these models until 1977, but found little success in the market ; only 61, 559 KAD cars were built from March 1969 to late 1977 ( of which 4, 976 Kapitäns, about 33, 000 Admirals and about 23, 500 Diplomats ).

Opel had hoped to build 1, 100 cars in total, but owing to the recession of the early 1990s, the £ 48, 000 cars were not selling as well as anticipated and production at Lotus was halted in December 1992.

The 1998 Holden Astra continued Holden's trend of sourcing its mid-size car | mid-size and smaller model lines from Opel in Europe.

The Holden Astra and Vectra, both designed by Opel in Germany, replaced the Toyota-sourced Holden Nova and Apollo.

In 2004, the Chevrolet Viva, a four-door version of the Opel Astra G, was introduced.

Following the demise of General Motors Corporation's Saturn division in North America, Opel cars are currently rebadged and sold in the U. S., Canada, and China under the Buick name with models such as the Opel Insignia / Buick Regal, Opel Astra sedan / Buick Verano, and Opel Mokka / Buick Encore.

More than 20 works-backed entries of Opel Astra, Audi TT and Mercedes-Benz CLK contested the revived 2000 DTM series but a serious issue developed for the series when Opel pulled out ahead of the 2006 season.

* Opel Astra ( 2003 – unknown )

During the 1990s, the ZX was Citroën's competitor in the class traditionally dominated in Europe by the Ford Escort and Vauxhall / Opel Astra, a market segment Citroën had moved away from when the GSA was discontinued in 1986.

The Opel Astra was imported from Antwerp, Belgium as the Saturn Astra.

Other published projects for Adam Opel AG include the Opel Ascona 400 / Manta 400 rally cars and the 2. 0L 16V engines in the Opel Kadett, Opel Astra GSi, Opel Vectra and Opel Calibra turbo.

The Opel Astra is assembled at the Opel Bochum plant ; however, by 2009, the factory was in serious financial difficulties.

At the end of 1979, Vauxhall moved into the modern family hatchback market with its Astra, ( Opel Kadett elsewhere ) range that replaced the ageing Viva and Chevette models.

1991 – The third generation Vauxhall Astra goes on sale with Opel versions adopting the Astra nameplate for the first time.