Opel Ascona
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The Opel Ascona was a medium-sized car produced by Opel, the German subsidiary of General Motors.
In the fall of 1970 Adam Opel AG presented its completely new vehicle range in Rüsselsheim (internal project code 1.450). The Opel Manta coupé was launched on September 9, followed by the Opel Ascona on October 28 in two- and four-door sedan forms, plus a three-door station wagon (called Caravan). These models were positioned between the existing Opel Kadett and the Opel Rekord.
The Opel Ascona was developed to give Ford a hard time (Ford was doing well selling the Taunus). The Opel Ascona A stayed in production until 1975. At that time, almost 692,000 vehicles of the first series were produced.
A small number were exported as the 'Opel 1900' to the United States, sold through Buick dealerships as the Buick-Opel. They were eventually replaced by versions of the smaller Opel Kadett.
The 1975 Opel Ascona B was available as a two- or four-door sedan. There were related two- and three-door coupé models in the Opel Manta range. Engines ranged from 1.2 L to 1.9 L.
In Britain, the Vauxhall Cavalier badge was used on both saloon and coupé models, which came out of the same factory in Belgium—the first Vauxhall to be built abroad. The front ends were different, featuring Vauxhall's trademark "droop snoot", as designed by Wayne Cherry.
A version of the Ascona B, featuring the front end of the Manta B, was sold in South Africa as the Chevrolet Chevair. This was in addition to a Chevrolet Ascona, identical in most respects to the Opel.
A 2.1 L diesel model was added to the Ascona B range in 1978.
The Ascona C, part of General Motors' J-car project, was launched in 1981 and switched to front wheel drive. The range added an option of a five-door hatchback bodystyle. The cars were also available in the UK as the Vauxhall Cavalier. The old Cavalier Coupé was phased out, though the Opel Manta was retained in the UK — the last car to be badged as an Opel in the UK before it was deleted in 1987. There were no longer sheetmetal differences between the Opel and Vauxhall models after 1981.
The old OHV engines were replaced by new SOHC powerplants. Base model was a 1.3 L with 60 hp DIN (44 kW), followed by a 1.6 L with 75 hp [[DIN] (55 kW). S versions with higher compression ratio were capable of 75 and 90 hp DIN, respectively (55 and 66 kW). The top of the line was the sporty GTE model, with electronic fuel injection, pushing power to 115 hp. Diesel power came from an Isuzu-developed block, with 1.6 L and 54 hp DIN (40 kW).
There was no station wagon version of the Ascona C. Only Vauxhall in the UK brought in the rear ends of the Holden Camira Wagon and adapted them to the Cavalier. Nor was there a coupé although a version sold in Brazil, known as the Chevrolet Monza, included a locally designed three-door coupé.
Opel continued to use the Ascona nameplate until the Vectra was launched in 1988, although the Cavalier name was retained by Vauxhall until 1995.de:Opel Ascona nl:Opel Ascona