- New Astra sedan after half-a-century notchback tradition
- World premiere at the Moscow Auto Salon (August 29 – September 9)
- Success story starts 1962 with Kadett A
In 1962 the Opel Kadett A is launched. It lays the foundations for the modern compact segment of Germany during its economic boom years. It also makes mobility affordable to a growing middle class. There are three variants: one of them is the two-door sedan which marks the beginning of the Opel’s success story of compact notchbacks with a separate trunk. Fifty years later, the new Astra sedan is celebrating its world premiere at the Auto Salon in Moscow (August 29 – September 9, 2012). In that sense, it is also a milestone, marking a half-a-century tradition of Opel sedans in the compact segment. It is also an anniversary within an even bigger anniversary: Opel is this year celebrating its 150th birthday as a company. There are very few other car makers that have such a long tradition. Opel’s first ever compact car was already born 76 years ago with the arrival of the 1936 Kadett. So far Opel has sold ten generations of compact vehicles, equivalent to 22 million cars.Opel Kadett B (1965 – 1973)
Opel compact cars often served as icons in their segment. Take for example this iconic advertising slogan from 1969.
An overview of Opel’s compact sedans:Kadett A (1962 – 1965): Two doorsKadett B (1965 – 1973): Two and four doorsKadett C (1973 – 1979): Two and four doorsKadett E (1984 – 1991): Comeback of four door sedan in 1985.Astra F (1991 – 1997): Four door starting early 1992Astra G (1998 – 2004): Four door from fall 1998Astra H (since 2004): Four door from fall 2007Astra J (since 2009): Four door complements new Astra line-up starting fall 2012
Thursday 23 August 2012
50 years of Opel compact sedans: Getting better all the time
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment