Off to the grand finale: After 400 journalists had put the new Astra Sports Tourer through its paces for ten days, it was the employees’ turn at the beginning of July in the best Opel manner. For a day, every hour. First a press conference in the N50, then a test drive around the headquarters. Those who got hold of the first slot in the morning were greeted personally by the new Opel CEO Florian Hüttl: “The press coverage so far proves that we have made a big splash with the Astra Sports Tourer!”
Of course, the Opel Post was there on the final day. Because when colleagues encounter brand new models such as the crisp sports suit “Made in Rüsselsheim”, then moments full of emotions, exciting details and a lot of love for the product are guaranteed. #TEAMOPEL in its purest form. Among other things, there was a near-earth platform exploration, a style trio in cobalt blue and last but not least a predatory fish hunt.
Backed by a model of success: The new Opel CEO Florian Hüttl is happy about the “perfect market launch of the Astra.”
Closed rows: 350 employees did not miss the opportunity to get to know the Astra Sports Tourer.
Ready to take off: the sports suit can be further individualized with mirror covers or wheel spoke clips.
“The press coverage proves that we have made a big splash with the Astra Sports Tourer.”
– Opel CEO Florian Huttl –
“The Wallbox is already installed!”
Jochen Redeker (left) and Frank Klappich are CNC specialists for high-tech milling in design.
“These crisp radii, the long, sporty roof line!” – that the Astra Sports Tourer would become a design piece, that dawned on the CNC specialists four years ago. Back when they programmed the high-speed milling machines that carved out the lines of the sports suit layer by layer from a block of hard plastic. Now, after the test drive in the plug-in hybrid, Jochen Redeker is also fully convinced of the driving characteristics: “The Astra is so pleasantly quiet and the transition from electric drive to combustion engine is smooth, no jerking, nothing.” And then the interior : “The flocked shelf for the sunglasses – my favorite detail. And the pressure points of the manual buttons are excellent. In general, the perceived quality of the cockpit: It’s top class!” Frank Klappich puts it briefly: “Either my Vivaro or my Signum – someone has to make room in the garage. For this one,” he says, pointing to the plug-in hybrid. The wall box is already installed.
Michelle Wiggers from the Palatinate is currently supporting colleagues in Rüsselsheim on the cockpit line.
“We’re happy to help with the launch of a new model – it’s a matter of honor!” says the welding specialist from Kaiserslautern, who is currently bringing her know-how to the headquarters with other colleagues from the Palatinate. She has been assembling the Astra cockpit together with the Pure Panel since the beginning of May. “It already looks great floating freely on the mounting arm, but installed like this – awesome!”, she says during her test drive. And since the colleague’s heart also beats for her home factory in the Palatinate, she invites you back to the parking lot for a down-to-earth exploration of the underbody: “There, these platform components on the exhaust, for example, we manufacture them in Kaiserslautern,” explains her and peeks out from under the stern. Some astra-specific components are also manufactured in Lautern.
“The Pure Panel – awesome!”
The KIS students Johannes Korn, Luis Hartmann, Felix Troll, Anna Scharf, Fabrice Wendrock, Tobias Koch, Moritz Heibertshausen (from left) celebrate the premiere.
It’s a bit like a film premiere. How the KIS students drive up one by one and get out of their test car, grinning broadly. KIS stands for cooperative engineering studies, a mix of the disciplines of mechanical engineering, computer science, electrical engineering and industrial engineering, in combination with training as a mechatronics technician, for example. They all gather at the billboard for the group photo. What did you like the most? “The smooth running of the three-cylinder.” “The Pure Panel.” “The double loading floor.” “Shifts gears well.” “The design.” “My highlight,” Johannes Kern continues, “is that we were allowed to drive it today – cool action!“
The prospective technical product designers NicoSchlösser, Dominik Wichlei, Yvonne Phan and Victor Brill (from left) demonstrate their trained eye.
The quartet put their heads together at the rear of the sports suit. “From the third brake light to the Opel flashing light to the reversing light – everything is precisely aligned vertically,” says one. “Look, even the small rear camera lens sits on the line,” adds another. The four are prospective technical product designers in their second year of training. That explains the trained look. A year ago they had first contact with Astra, they say. At that time they evaluated the feel of the buttons for the volume control for the cockpit colleagues. To be able to drive the final Astra Sports Tourer here today in front of everyone else – “that’s something,” they agree. As a reminder, there is a group photo with the crisp rear view of the sports suit.
“The perceived quality of the cockpit: that’s top class!”
– Jochen Redeker, CNC specialist –
“And for me – wheel spoke clips in body color.”
Accessory Operations Manager Stefanie Ruby presents the Opel accessories.
“By employees for employees” is the motto of the day. And Stefanie Ruby clearly has fun explaining the Opel accessories to her colleagues, with which the sports suit can be further customized. We asked the accessory specialist to compile her personal TOP 5 list for the Astra Sports Tourer. “For me, as a mother of three, the tailor-made sun visors for the rear and side windows are indispensable – and of course the FlexConnect holder for the tablet.” Another must-have for the dog owner: the waterproof mat for the trunk. And of course the dog safety gate. “It’s easy to assemble, the corresponding hooks are already installed as standard,” she explains. “And last but not least,” she adds, “I would choose the wheel spoke clips in the color of the car – simply beautiful!”
“We at Opel drive Opel” – Bakari Mwabasi (left) and Piero Parisi make sure of that.
Even before the first colleagues arrive, we stop by Bakari Mwabasi and Piero Parisi from the OpelStore for employee leasing and new car purchases. This will probably be a busy day? “Oh yes, we’ve been seeing for weeks that our colleagues are really excited about the new Astra,” says Piero Parisi, pointing to a long Excel list on his laptop. “Of course, this is also due to our attractive conditions,” adds Bakari Mwabasi. Regular leasing, for example for the Astra Sports Tourer as a plug-in hybrid, is 0.9 percent, and there is a 20 percent discount on purchase, says Mwabasi. A new offer is an attractive trade-in program for the old car. Piero Parisi: “The only downside – as everywhere, the delivery times have increased. Anyone who orders an Astra Sports Tourer today will probably receive it in June 2023.”
“My colleagues are excited about the new Astra.”
The Astra Sports Tourer: Developed, designed, manufactured and also presented in Rüsselsheim.
Would you like an ice cream? Ramesh Niebling welcomes his colleagues after the test drive.
To choose from: the plug-in hybrids in cobalt blue and the petrol and diesel engines in volcano grey.
“This calm, the comfort – for me, a journey is always like a little wellness excursion.”
– Haiyan Yu, Manager OV52 –
“We dressed up specially for the meeting with the Sports Tourer.”
The 3D modellers Oliver Jones and Anne Jung are digital midwives of the Astra Sports Tourer.
“Coincidence? No.” Anne Jung peers over the blue mirrored lenses of her sunglasses and adjusts her cobalt blue dress. “It’s a special day – and we dressed up especially for the occasion,” said Oliver Jones, also dressed in blue. Finally, based on the press photos, they knew what the launch color of the plug-in hybrid would be. The self-confessed “fast drivers” had also agreed on the destination for their test drive in the electric sports suit in advance: “We took a brisk ride to the stadium in Frankfurt,” says Oliver Jones. They were immediately surrounded by curious passers-by. No wonder, with the stylish trio in cobalt blue. Although Anne Jung prefers a different color combination: “Arctic white with a black roof – wonderful!” After all, both colleagues have already had plenty of opportunity to study the sporty lines and color variants. As 3D modellers in design, they were the digital midwives of the sports suit.
Haiyan Yu is the manager of the sports suit – she is also known in the company as “Miss Sports Tourer”.
As technical manager and responsible for quality for the OV52, as the Astra Sports Tourer is called internally, Haiyan Yu has already covered quite a few kilometers in the new sports suit. “The calm in the interior and the comfort are outstanding – the trips to the factory and back home are always small wellness trips for me,” she enthuses. She is already looking forward to taking a longer trip. “With the cargo space – even with the rear seats up – almost 600 liters and the certified EGR seats, the Sports Tourer is the perfect travel companion,” she is convinced. Especially at night. Haiyan Yu: “The glare-free lighting system with 168 LED elements – 84 per headlight – turns night into day without dazzling oncoming traffic. It is a highlight in the truest sense of the word!”
“The sports suit is the perfect travel companion.”
Predator hunt in a sports suit: After we had looked in vain for the shark that designers traditionally hide in Opel models, the expert supports us.
Found: Haiyan Yu is the technical manager for the sports suit. And she knows where to find the predatory fish – namely in the trunk.
Fish on the hook: The shark adorns a bracket designed to hold shopping bags in place – one of the many clever touches in the hold.
July 2022
Photos: Marcus Weinert, Andreas Liebschner