Opel Commodore (C) 1978-1982

The Opel Commodore was an executive car (E-segment) produced by Opel from 1967 to 1982. It is the six-cylinder variant of the Rekord with styling differences. The Commodore nameplate was used by Opel from 1967 to 1982. However, its nameplate/lineage continues with the Australian Holden Commodore. The last generation was sold in the United Kingdom primarily as the Vauxhall Viceroy although Opel models were also sold.

[B]Commodore C (1978–1982)[/B]
The Commodore C was first shown in late 1977, at the same time as the Rekord E. It only entered series production in October the following year, however. The South African version of this car, the Chevrolet Commodore, was actually ahead of the European original model to enter production, in September 1978. The Commodore continued to be a larger and more luxurious version of the Rekord. There was no coupé version of the Commodore C, as it was replaced by the Opel Monza, the coupé version of the Opel Senator, but a two-door notchback saloon was available until June 1981. The single engine used by the Commodore in Europe was the well-known straight-six 2.5-litre unit with 115 PS (85 kW; 113 hp) or 130 PS (96 kW; 128 hp) when fitted with fuel injection.

The Commodore was never a success, occupying an uncomfortably narrow niche between the Rekord and Senator. Another concern was the fuel mileage, with a fuel injected Commodore taking considerably more fuel than the larger three-liter Senator. The outdated engine also had little torque available at lower engine speeds, and was noisy.

The new model featured a similar front end to the larger Senator. It was sold in the UK under the name Vauxhall Viceroy, with the Viceroy being a slightly more luxurious version of the Carlton. There was an estate version (dubbed the "Voyage" in Germany) offered in the Opel range from April 1981 until the end of production in 1982, which became a mainstay in the Holden range in Australia and was also available in the Chevrolet range in South Africa. It was never offered by Vauxhall in the UK as a Viceroy, although a one-off estate car was built in 1981 for Queen Elizabeth II, for her to carry her Corgi dogs. The car still survives today, one of only 15 Vauxhall Viceroys left registered in the UK, as of 2006.

The Commodore was dropped by Opel in Europe and absorbed into the Rekord range of 1983. It is this model which the early Holden Commodore models were based on, introduced in late 1978, and eventually replaced (after several facelifts) in 1988, with the VN Commodore, a model based on the then-current Senator and Omega models.

[B]Manufacture elsewhere[/B]
It was the Opel Commodore and Vauxhall Viceroy that formed the basis for the first Holden Commodore in Australia, and was sold in South Africa as the Chevrolet Commodore until 1982, when it was rebadged as an Opel. The South African Commodore was introduced in July 1978, at the same time as the Rekord E went on sale there. These originally had Chevrolet engines, pushrod inline-sixes of 3.8 or 4.1 liters. Sold as a standard or a GL (with the 4.1 only available as a sedan with automatic transmission), the South African version replaced the earlier Chevrolet 3800 and 4100, also based on the Commodore.

However, in South Africa, General Motors South Africa (later Delta) offered a revised version of the Commodore until 1986, again combining the bodyshell of the Rekord with the front end of the revised Senator. It was also sold there with the same 3-litre inline-six, producing 180 PS (132 kW).

[SIZE=1]Source: Wikipedia[/SIZE]

Opel Commodore (C) #2

Opel Commodore (C) #3

Opel Commodore (C) #4

I'm from 1981 but I can't recollect ever seeing such a Commodore C in real life.
These cars are completely extinct, if you ask me :)

[QUOTE=Duell;1021742]I'm from 1981 but I can't recollect ever seeing such a Commodore C in real life.
These cars are completely extinct, if you ask me :)[/QUOTE]

I am from '79 and can also not recall seeing one for a very long time. Untill I moved to another village and a fine example could be found just around the corner :) This inspired me to split the Commodore thread and to upload more pictures.

The Opel Kadett D by the way, sold in very large numbers, is also hard to find by now.

[I]*Edit: No idea why the pictures from my Phone are uploaded upsidedown.[/I]

Wow with a photo on Kingsday !

Opel Commodore (C) #6