Through noises of tam-tam and shortcuts, there was suddenly contact with Jason Holland. And Jason lives in… Finland. There also appears to be an active classic scene. The trend there is pretty much American muscle cars and rally cars. But of course there is an exception to every rule. And Jason - who by the way is a local classic trader under the banner of Koskin Import - was happy to report that he now had something really nice.
An Opel on consignment
Well, a customer of his had given the car on consignment. For unclear reasons, the car did not come online on Jason's own site. But he was willing to share his find with us. And what he had there in Valkeakoski?
Opel and the station wagons: Repair: Caravans.
Station wagons: Opel has been building them since the XNUMXs. In the United States, 'estates' had been popular for much longer, but with the Olympia Rekord Caravan, Opel unleashed interest in station wagons in Europe. The station wagon can no longer be ignored in Europe.
Opel Ascona
The Opel Ascona (from 1970) itself was a medium-sized family car by European standards. The car is named after the Swiss town of Ascona. The name was somewhat mundane, but the Ascona was as German solid as freshly baked Kaisers bread. It was delivered with Opel's legendary reliable 1600 and 1900 engines.
The beginning
In the autumn of 1970, Adam Opel AG presented a completely new vehicle program in Rüsselsheim (internal project code 1450): the Opel Manta on 9 September, and the Opel Ascona on 28 October. These models were positioned between the existing Opel Kadett and the Opel Rekord. The Ascona was developed to tease competitor Ford because of Ford's brand-new mid-sized car, the Ford Taunus.
The Opel Ascona A (later types were designated B en C) remained in production until the autumn of 1975. In total, almost 692.000 Opel Asconas of the first series were produced.
The Asconas were good cars. Family cars or transport for the slightly better type of business traveler with a chance to grow to a Rekord or Mercedes-Benz 200D. But Opel was also serious about competitive sport. And so you could also buy an Opel Ascona with which you could be on the road very quickly. An Opel Ascona with a tuned block, an adjusted chassis and a cool widening set? That was a very brave thing.
From Caravan to Voyage
The Ascona Voyage appeared in 1970. The car was 'invented' by the American Buick dealers. They saw it as a nice entry for long-term GM customers. The car gave a taste of a new generation of station wagons, focused more on lifestyle than civilized utility. The Ascona Voyage was inspired by the Commodore Voyage concept car that made its entrance at the Geneva Motor Show in 1968. The Ascona Voyage - no doubt inspired by the ideas of the American Buick sellers where the car would be displayed in the showrooms, had optional side panels made of plastic foil with wood print and a roof lining of vinyl, just like the study model. This two-door station wagon offered plenty of space and was the ideal vehicle for young families with an active lifestyle and starting entrepreneurs.
But the Finnish Voyage was actually the first we saw outside of a brochure.
I had an A Ascona from 1972 with the reliable 1200 cc engine from Opel.
This was delivered original.
Just a few more Opel freak facts:
The name Ascona was not at all new in 1970. Between 1957 and 1963 the luxury versions of the Olympia-Rekord P1 and P2 from Biel, Switzerland, were provided with gold-colored Ascona nameplates. The name reappeared between 1965 and 1970, now as the Swiss version of the B-Kadett, fitted as standard with the 1700S engine, disc brakes, bumper rosettes and sidewall trim. It goes without saying that the standard Kadett with non-powered drum brakes and 45 hp 1100N engine was not a sales success in the Alps, while the version with 1700S engine was.
And then the big Ascona secret. This Ascona A was developed from 1965 as Opel Kadett. If you look closely, you will see the family traits with the B-Kadett and B-Kadett Car-A-Van. Unmistakably.
But the Detroit chiefs had other plans. First, arch-rival Ford had entered the market with the TC series and the Capri, which Opel would like to contrast with the Ascona and the Manta. But the main reason was GM's desire to make a “world car” that could be produced not only as Opel, but also as Vauxhall, Chevrolet, Buick, Ranger, Holden, Daewoo, Isuzu and I'll forget one more couple. That became the Kadett C.
Thanks for the valuable addition!
I think the Kadett A and B have also competed before, see the first Vauxhall viva, figured 64 and the viva from 1968, certainly also opel clones
The A-Ascona remains the most appealing Opel of all time for me. A combination of an American-style nose with bold, more angular lines that put an end to the Coke bottle shapes of its many predecessors. My late father drove a 16N sedan.
At the time (years 11 or 12 ago I saw a perfect mustang 69er mach1 via movie cars in Goirle) go to Finland, now I really want to find out how he is doing, after such a time
Give it a try via Koskin import. Finland is not that big 🙂
At home we had a second-hand Opel Record station wagon. Orange was still a very popular color at the time. At one point, an ordinary Opel Record was added, also used. I think the gear was behind the wheel, which I thought was special as a little fellow. It contained a square clock. It is difficult to put into words, but every old car had its own special atmosphere. Now you can go to the moon with a modern car, but the cars at the time had such a simple charm! I have a simple Peugeot Partner (adapted for my eh, partner). It has air conditioning, USB input, but that atmosphere of the past… or was it just because I was a little boy?
Worked in the years 1969 to 1982 at major Opel dealers in the south of the country, have nevertheless sold various ascona voyage, also in a luxury version! Jann
You can also see something of the later Kadett City
once seen one with a mantaneus, home craftsmanship, but beautiful.
That's nice, a colleague of mine has a blue metalic ascone station with a Manta A nose.