General Motors Astra

The Astra is a General Motors (GM) small family car, badged as an Opel in continental Europe, a Vauxhall in the United Kingdom, a Holden in Australasia, and a Chevrolet in Latin America. In Russia, it carries Opel and Chevrolet badges.

The Astra is now built in Germany, Belgium, the UK, Brazil, South Africa, India, Poland and Russia, as well as being assembled in completely knocked-down (CKD) kits in other countries. It competes against the Ford Focus and VW Golf. In the mid- to late-1980s, it was badged as a Pontiac in the United States of America.

Astra history

There have been five main versions of the Astra:

• 1979–84 Vauxhall Astra Mk 1/Opel Kadett D/Chevrolet Kadett
• 1984–present Vauxhall Astra Mk 2/Opel Kadett E/Daewoo Le Mans/Daewoo Racer/Daewoo Cielo/Daewoo Nexia/Pontiac LeMans/Passport Optima
• 1991–8 Opel Astra A/F/Opel Kadett (South Africa) F/Vauxhall Astra Mk 3/Holden Astra TR/Chevrolet Astra
• 1998–present Opel Astra B/G/Vauxhall Astra Mk 4/Holden Astra TS/Holden Astra Classic/Chevrolet Astra (Brazil)/Chevrolet Viva (Russia)
• 2004–present Opel Astra C/H/Vauxhall Astra Mk 5/Holden Astra AH (uses the GM Delta platform).

1979

The Astra name originated with Vauxhall's 1979 model, though the car was designed and built a year earlier in Germany as an Opel Kadett. This model replaced the Vauxhall Viva in the UK, along with some versions of the Vauxhall Chevette. However, the Chevette remained on the price list for several years afterwards until the Vauxhall Nova was launched. The Astra was Vauxhall's first model to have front-wheel drive.

The car featured a new unified engine for Vauxhall/Opel, featuring an all-aluminium head, overhead camshaft and hydraulic valve lifters. The engine was a huge leap forward from the earlier generation of small engines used in Vauxhall and Opel cars in terms of power, economy and refinement. It was initially available in 1300 and 1600 forms, and later an 1800 fuel-injected version was added, used in the Mk 1 Astra GTE model, introduced in 1983. Vauxhall now had a serious rival for the Volkswagen Golf, and it quickly became popular with buyers.