The Other Sport Wagon: 1975 Opel 1900 Sport Wagon

If you wandered into a Buick dealer in the early 1970s you would be surrounded by the kind of land barges you'd expect from Buick.  Big chrome, big bumpers, and big V8 is what you expected from GM's performo-luxury brand which was not as luxurious as Cadillac, but not as performancy as Pontiac...but certainly better appointed than Chevrolet.  Anyway, if you wandered off into the corner of that Buick dealer, you might be surprised to stumble over a little compact thing with European construction and an Opel badge...because you could buy a Buick Sport Wagon for hauling your wife and 9 kids or you could buy an Opel Sport Wagon for you, your wife, and few small Pomeranian puppies. Find this 1975 Opel 1900 Sports Wagon offered for $1500 in Nashville, TN via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!

Buick 215 V8 Power: 1972 Opel Manta Rallye

The first generation Opel Manta (It is known as a Manta A to the Manta lovers around the globe) was a simple and light two-door fastback that shared a chassis and oily bits with the Opel Ascona sedan platform. The Opel marque may have been controlled the giant General Motors monster, but the Manta was a decidedly European machine, with a small cam-in-head inline-4 cylinder engine pushing power to the rear wheels...but you can fix that will a little bit 'o' Murican iron, and finally justify the fact that these things were sold in Buick dealers when new. Find this 1972 Opel Manta Rallye with Buick 215V8 offered for $2200 in Seattle, WA via craigslist. Tip from JB1025. 

One of a Kind: 1964 Opel Kadett Wagon

Every custom car builder claims that his or her car is "one of a kind" but for the most part...they aren't.  Custom trike Fiero..yup, dime-a-dozen, Subaru with a domestic V8 swap..common-as-muck, Porsche 968 with Mazda Rotary swaa....ok...that one was one-of-a-kind...but so is today's next feature, because very few people in this world would dream of taking one of the few remaining intact Opel Kadett wagons and turning them into a V8 powered drag strip machine that you pilot from the back seat. Find this 1964 Opel Kadett here on eBay offered for $5,500 buy-it-now in Enfield, CT with 3 days to go.

Barn Find: 1973 Opel Manta

The first generation Opel Manta "A" was a simple and light two-door fastback that shared a chassis and oily bits with the Opel Ascona sedan platform. It is a classic that, for whatever reason, doesn't get many accolades these days, but would make a great occasional driver and weekend cruiser to fill the empty spot in your garaage.  Find this 1973 Opel Manta here on eBay bidding for $800 reserve-not-met located in South Hadley, MA with 1 day to go.

Classic Collectible But Not Cliché: 1972 Opel GT

Driving a classic Opel GT will have the vast majority of people scratching their heads, and a few Opel (and Buick!) enthusiasts rapt with glee.  The little GT doesn't just put a smile on the faces of the lunatic fringe, but it also proves to people out there that a classic German car doesn't need to  you don't need a V8 to have a good time. Find this 1972 Opel GT offered for $6,500 in Maplewood, MN via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!

Mid Week Match-Up: EuroTrash For Dan

This week's Mid-Week Match-Up is for friend of DT Dan E who tell us that he will be in Europe on an extended vacation/sabbatical for 9 weeks with his small family (wife + kid). In his words: plan is to buy a sweet ride to explore in.  I have a friend we are staying with in Switzerland who will buy the car before we arrive and sell it after we leave.  Great opportunity to drive something fun I can't or wouldn't get over here.  I've always wanted a high HP manual wagon and the 450hp Audi RS4 Avant is at the top of the list.  But, I've been scouring the internet and there are some potential concerns with the Audi 4.2L V8.  Apparently, the timing chain guides and tensioners can wear out above 75k miles and they are cleverly located on the back of the engine so it has to come out for the $$$ repair.  There are also lots of references to need for costly regular cleaning out of carbon deposits in the intake system. Seems like a potentially risky option for reliability and resale value.  Anyone know anything about these engines?  Another option I'm considering is a BMW 335i or 545i wagon.  Lots less HP but could still be fun.  I haven't had time to research these yet.  What else should we be considering?   At our price (<$20k), cars would likely have about 100k miles on them.    Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Cool Runner: 1970 Opel GT

The Opel GT was a compact sports car by GM's European subsidiary Opel from 1965 to 1973.  The little  "poor man's Vette" (reference to its styling similarity with Chevrolet's C3 Covette) was sold and maintained at Buick dealers in North America, an odd place to find a European transplant and undoubtedly part of the reason it was sales failure. The Opel GT has been cheap enough for years that scores have been crushed and sometime soon we expect the remaining cars to keep appreciating. Find this 1970 Opel GT offered for $7700 near Seattle, WA via craigslist.

Banana Boat: 1974 Opel Manta

The early 1970s wasn't a good time to be a new car.  The late 60s models were faster, better looking, and less complex in general, but there were a few cars that kept it cool into the mid 70s.  Included in this rare bunch is something called the Opel Manta that was built in Germany by GM.  Find this 1974 Opel Manta offered for $7,200 in Neshkoro, WI via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!

Astranautical: 2008 Saturn Astra XR

For years, the only way to drive a European built econobox with a manual gearbox (other than something from VW) was to hop on jet for the continent and head to the nearest rent-a-box...BUT starting in the 2008 model year, GM imported the Opel Astra into the USA and badged it as a Saturn, which was great until they threw the Saturn brand into the GM dumpster liked a used Cobalt ignition cylinder.  Another brand bites the dust, but a shooting star always burns the brightest right before it bursts into combusted space dust.  Find this 2008 Saturn Astra XR offered for $4,200 near Boston, MA. Tip from Jeff L.

Auction Watch: 1973 Opel Commodore

Find this 1973 Opel Commodore here on eBay bidding for $3,650 reserve-not-met with 3 days to go, located in Pompano Beach, FL. Tip from JB1025.

Synchronized Headlamps: 1971 Opel GT

The Opel GT is a perky little 2-seat sports car from the late 60s/early 70s that offers a huge amount of character for a small entry price.  Performance won't be much worse than a Porsche 912, but it will be about 1/50th of the cost to own.  Find this 1971 Opel GT here on eBay bidding for $2,800 in Cincinnati, OH with 4 days to go.

1970 Opel GT V8 vs 1974 Opel 1900 two door wagon

You can find most any car make and model in the metro NYC classifieds.  It is very unusual to find more than one Opel for sale though.  Opel is General Motors successful European affiliate that sold cars here in the late 1960's into the 70's.  Today, we have to choice between these two tasty German morsels: a 1970 Opel GT in Poughkeepsie, NY for $3500 and a 1974 Opel 1900 in North Haven, CT for $6000.

Gemini In The Rough: 1976 Opel by Isuzu

Find this 1976 Opel by Isuzu offered for $1200 in San Antonio, TX via craigslist.. Tip from FuelTruck and words by Hunsbloger: As an Opel fan these were the worst. By the end of 1975 the fuel injected, swim deck bumpered Opel Manta Luxus had effectively priced itself out of competition in the US.   The DM was up and the Dollar was down.  It was killing the US manufacturer's ability to import their way into the small car market.  The Capri was similarly impacted by the same currency challenge.

Auction Watch: 1969 Opel GT

Take a look at this 1969 Opel GT here on eBay bidding for $6,700 with 2 days to go, located in Middleton, WI.

Auction Watch: 1973 Opel GT

Take a look at this 1973 Opel GT here on eBay bidding for $8,000 reserve-not-met with $10,950 buy-it-now with 6 days to go.

Auction Watch: 1973 Opel GT

Check out this 1973 Opel GT here on eBay bidding for $3,740 with auction ending on Sunday.

Auction Watch: 1970 Opel GT

Take a look at this 1970 Opel GT here on eBay bidding for $4,262 reserve-not-met with auction ending on Wednesday. 

Forgotten Classic: 1974 Opel Manta A

The first generation Opel Manta "A" was a simple and light two-door fastback that shared a chassis and oily bits with the Opel Ascona sedan platform. It is a classic that, for whatever reason, doesn't get many accolades these days, but would make a great occasional driver and weekend cruiser to fill the empty spot in your garage.  Find this 1974 Opel Manta A offered for $8,500 in Pescadero, CA via craigslist.  Tip from Kaibeezy.

29k Mile Classic: 1973 Opel GT

Many classic cars have a good wreck-to-whip ratio, that is to say that a nice example costs considerably more than a trashed version.  The difference in price for something like a Porsche 911, fastback Mustang, or C2 Corvette might tempt you into buying one that has some needs, but when you get into more affordable cars, it almost always makes sense to buy a nice example, and some cars you should just buy the nicest one you can find.  Like this 1973 Opel GT here on eBay bidding for $6,000 reserve-not-met located in Deming, NM with 3 days to go.  Tip from Rene.