When he held the finished book in his hands, he was surprised by the variety of topics, says editor Eckhart Bartels about the “Opel 2025 Yearbook”. After reading it, we can only agree. He and his colleagues Dr. Thomas Dieckmann and Thorsten Schelper once again mixed an exciting themed cocktail – about the work of Adam Opel, the “world car” Kadett E and the 40th birthday of the catalytic converter. We take a look at the 27th edition.
The 130th anniversary of Adam Opel’s death: His spirit lives on
Opel celebrated 125 years of automobile manufacturing last year. This year, on September 8, 2025, the 130th anniversary of the death of company founder Adam Opel is approaching. He died in 1895 at the age of 58; So he didn’t live to see his company enter the automobile business. And yet it was his spirit that paved the way for the brand’s triumph. With the manufacture of sewing and winemaking machines as well as the industrial production of high and low wheels, he had created know-how and structures that his family members could rely on in automobile manufacturing. He also ensured that his five sons gained factory experience at a young age, but also received comprehensive training in both business and technical areas.
The Opel Yearbook 2025 is dedicated to Adam Opel’s life story and also touches on lesser-known episodes. The role of Opel’s wife Sophie, who took care of social issues and finances in day-to-day operations, is also acknowledged. This was extremely unusual for this time, when women were generally not even allowed to make decisions about themselves. In addition, Opel introduced a company health insurance fund as early as 1872 – eleven years before social legislation with health insurance and accident insurance became mandatory in the German Empire.
How was his life? On the 130th anniversary of his death, the authors shed light on the work of Adam Opel.
40 years of Kadett E: The indestructible design icon
The “world car”: The triumph of the Kadett E leads all the way to Uzbekistan.
It was the last model to bear this name. This was then replaced by “Astra”. “Kadett” was “antiquated,” it was said at the time. Opel had been using the name, borrowed from military language, since 1937. But the Kadett E, which was on sale from 1984 to 1991, was by no means a swan song for the great old days. On the contrary: its innovative design, which was radically changed compared to its predecessor, made a triumphant march around the world in many variations. Which also lasted much longer than the original model was on the market.
Thomas Dieckmann traces the “world car” in his article. Most of the variants were created under the GM umbrella, as Vauxhall, Chevrolet, Pontiac and Co. Sometimes only individual design features of the Kadett E were adopted. Daewoo, which was only a GM licensee at the time, ensured particularly intensive distribution. With the Daewoo Nexia, the Koreans introduced a Kadett E-offshoot that was sold as a new car in Germany for years, long after the successor Astra F had already rolled off the production line at Opel. Daewoo also gave it a face in Asia and India. It was even manufactured in Uzbekistan until 2008. And the successor Nexia II N150 still had a Kadett E window line. It was built until 2015. According to some sources, it is still in production today. “Unfortunately, we were unable to check this on site in Uzbekistan,” writes Thomas Dieckmann. Even the most meticulous researcher reaches their limits at some point.
Nothing comes from nothing: How Opel conquered the East
Of course: After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, many wanted to develop the former GDR as a new business area. Opel immediately became the market leader in the new federal states. How? Nothing comes from nothing. The fact that the brand’s awareness in the new federal states shot up from 53 to 91 percent within a few months was the success of a multifaceted communication strategy, which Eckhart Bartels describes in a total of four parts. He used the “Opel Report 1989 – 1992”, which Claus Hitzel made available to him, as his research basis. As Head of Service, Hitzel played a key role in revitalizing the automobile market in the former workers’ and farmers’ state.
The review of “35 years of construction in the East” is rounded off with a contemporary witness report by Heike Herzog. She came to Opel in 1990 as a former employee of the Berlin Central Research Institute for Transport and remained loyal to the company until December 2021. She was district manager in Berlin, team leader in Saxony, and from 2009 regional manager in the East sales region. And accordingly has a lot to tell. It is a matter of honor that she remains loyal to Opel even after her active years. The fact that she continues to stock up on “Opel Five” sparkling wine and “Opel Secco” at the Opel Schloss Westerhaus winery in Ingelheim is a matter of good taste.
Corsa instead of Trabant: This is how Opel became the market leader in the new federal states.
Youth bold: Let the Tigra out of the tank!
Varieties of the Tigra: The model not only impressed young buyers.
It was intended to delight a young audience at the time, but also delighted masses of those young at heart and those who wanted to feel young again: the Opel Tigra. It came onto the market in 1995. The commercial in which swimming star Franziska von Almsick literally dives with him in the middle of New York is unforgettable.
The imaginatively designed coupé bears the signature of the Japanese Opel designer Hideo Kodama. However, the version that ultimately reached the dealer was just one of many solutions that the designers came up with. Eckhart Bartels shows them all, tells their story and adds another one: the one about the “Tigra Roadster” project, which was not realized due to unfavorable market forecasts. The Tigra TwinTop, which was launched in 2004, only took a few ideas from this. A prototype of the originally planned Tigra Roadster can be admired at Opel Classic today.
The “Opel Yearbook 2025” was published by Podszun-Verlag, has 144 pages, costs 18.90 euros and is available from the publisher, in bookstores and online mail order stores (ISBN: 9783751611459).
By the way: Every fan of the brand has the opportunity to approach the editorial team with topic suggestions via the homepage “opel-jahrbuch.de” or the Facebook page “OPEL Jahrbuch since 1999”.
January 2025
Text: Eric Scherer, photos: Opel Yearbook 2025