Rüsselsheim

FOR RELEASE: August 13, 2001

Opel Astra: Milestones In A 10-Year Success Story

The main events - from 1991 to 2001

Rüsselsheim - New body styles, advanced technical features, additional standard equipment, attractive visual details - a lot has happened to the Astra in the past ten years. Here is a summary of the highlights in the successful history of Opel's compact best-seller:

August 12, 1991: The first Astra model generation goes into production in Bochum
September 1991: The first Astras reach the showrooms. There are three body styles (three or five-door hatchbacks and the station wagon) and seven engines from 42 kW (57 hp) through 110 kW (150 hp)
April 1992: Sales of the four-door notchback start
March 1993: Premiere of the Astra Cabrio at the Geneva Motor Show
1993 - 1997: Large-scale electric car trials on the island of Rügen; the ten Astra Impuls 3 test vehicles (based on the Caravan) together cover more than 350,000 kilometers
1993: The Astra is the most popular station wagon in its class throughout Europe. It holds on to the top spot through 2000
May 1994: The full-size driver's airbag becomes standard equipment
September 1994: New features for the 1995 model year: passenger-side full-size airbag and power steering now standard on all versions. Modified front-end styling with new radiator grill and white flashing turn indicator glass; dark-glass rear lights
March 1996: The Astra 'Cool' is the first compact car to have air conditioning as standard
July 1996: The Astra CNG station wagon goes on sale; a short production run of 500 vehicles running on compressed natural gas is offered to energy providers, public authorities and fleet users
October 1996: For the up-coming 1997 model year, all versions now have ABS as standard and the Astra Cabrio is available ex works with a power-operated soft top
April 1997: Start of a two-year electric car field trial with ten Astra Impuls 3 vehicles taking part: day-to-day driving where the Belgian, Netherlands and German borders meet
September 1997: World premiere of the new Astra at the German Motor Show in Frankfurt
October 1997: A rally car based on the Astra is produced in accordance with the FIA's Kit Car rules
January 5, 1998: Production of the second Astra model generation starts in Bochum
March 1998: Sales of the new Astra start, with three body styles available (three and five-door hatchbacks, station wagon) and seven engines with outputs from 48 kW/65 hp through 100 kW/136 hp
April 1998: World premiere of the notchback at the Auto Mobil International show in Leipzig
June 1998: The North Rhine -Westphalian Design Center awards its "Red Spot for High Design Quality" to the Astra
November 1998: Premiere of the 118 kW/160 hp Astra OPC at the Essen Motor Show
September 1999: Premiere of the Astra Eco 4 - the first car in the compact midsize category with a consumption of only 4 liters per 100 kilometers - and of the Astra Coupé at the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA)
October 1999: Introduction of Active Head Restraints for the 2000 model year; Astra engine program now includes two new turbocharged direct-injection diesels with four valves per cylinder, the 1.7 DTI 16V (55 kW/75 hp) and the 2.0 DTI 16V (74 kW/100 hp)
November 1999: Presentation of the Astra DTC competition car for the German Touring Car Challenge series (approx. 149 kW/200 hp) and the Astra Kit Car (approx. 206 kW/280 hp)
1999: The Astra books around 745,000 new registrations and is the top-selling nameplate in the whole of Europe
February 2000: Roll-out of the Astra V8 Coupé for the German Touring Car * Championship (DTM), with a power output of approx. 338 kW/460 hp from its 4-liter, eight-cylinder engine
March 2000: Sales of the Astra Coupé begin
June 2000: 43 car journalists from Germany and Austria drive the Astra 1.7 DTI 16V in the 16th Mobil Economy Run and achieve an average fuel consumption of only 3.1 liters per 100 kilometers
August 2000: Sales of the Astra Eco 4 start, and at the same time, Germany's biggest-ever fuel-saving test, the 'Tour against the Clock' in which about 7000 Opel customers participate. The best result is a true sensation: an average of only 1953 liters of diesel per 100 kilometers
October 2000: As part of Opel's '2001 Engine Offensive' the Astra gets more powerful, lower-emission gasoline engines and the maintenance intervals are doubled to 30,000 kilometers or twelve months
November 2000: Launch of the Astra Coupé Turbo with 140 kW/190 hp, 2.0-liter engine; introduction of the 'Selection Free' equipment and trim concept
March 2001: World premiere of the Astra Cabrio and debut of the Astra Coupé OPC X-Treme supersport design study at the Geneva Motor Show
April 2001: Readers of the consumer magazine "Guter Rat" (Good Advice) award the Astra Eco 4 the title "Auto der Vernunft" (Most sensible car).
July 2001: The Swedish 'Gröna Bilister' ("Green Drivers") association awards the Astra 1.6 16V the title 'Good Environmental Choice' in view of its low emissions
August 2001: For the 2002 model year the Astra is upgraded quite significantly, with full-size head airbags, ESP, automatic air conditioning and xenon headlamps now either standard or available as optional extras. Six new upholstery fabrics, modified instruments and new wheels complete this extensive model revision
August 12, 2001: The tenth anniversary of the start of Astra production, with more than 7 million already built all over the world.