Many moons ago we told you about the Vauxhall imported by GM to sell through Pontiac dealers in the recession-wracked late ’50s. As we hinted, there was a similar program at Buick, where the Olympia Rekord, from GM’s German subsidiary Adam Open AG, was sold as a captive import. If the Vauxhall was important for Pontiac, the Opel was even more so for Buick, whose bejewelled behemoths were clogging dealer lots.
Slightly larger than the Vauxhall, the Opel Rekord was in the American idom, with a slab-sided body, wrap-around windshield and bench seats. Transmission choice was limited to a three-speed column-shifted unit. Also available was a Caravan station wagon. Opel’s six-cylinder Kapitan model, which seems more like a bargain Buick, was, for some reason, never regularly imported.
After Buick introduced the intermediate Special for 1961, Opel popularity waned. For one thing the Special, available as sedan or wagon, offered four doors. For another, an aluminum V8 was standard, with automatic transmission optional and popular. A new Rekord was briefly offered in 1962 before imports ceased.
But, unlike Vauxhall, Opel was not down for the count as far as the USA was concerned. In 1964, the new Kadett model reached our shores. For 1969 it was joined by the Opel GT, an attractive coupe that still has a substantial following. Sales of successive Opel models continued through 1975.
But still that wasn’t the end. For 1976, GM went Japanese for its Buick captive import. The Opel by Isuzu, basically an Isuzu Gemini, was brought to our shores in April 1976. Sales were sluggish, and GM tried to put a better face on it with Buick Opel badges, but customers weren’t fooled. Imports of Isuzus continued, but the Buick badge was abandoned after 1979. Opel’s best American year was 1959, with nearly 40,000 cars sold. It was the fourth place import that year, behind Volkswagen, Renault and English Ford.
Does anyone collect Opels in America? Precious few, it seems. It’s all too easy to find derelict Rekords languishing in the woods.
