Astra

Vauxhall, the British subsidiary for General Motors, manufactured Astra as a series of small family car. Vauxhall Astra was introduced in 1979. This car, though named Astra by Vauxhall, was designed and built a year earlier in Germany as Opel Kadett. Astra Mark 1 became Vauxhall’s first car to have front wheel drive. This vehicle was integrated with an all-aluminium head, overhead camshaft and hydraulic valve litres. The engine had undergone a major change as compared to the earlier generation Vauxhall and Opel cars in terms of power, economy and refinement.

The second generation Astra, Mark 2, was completely re-designed, while retaining the same gearing system and engine as Mark 1. This series of cars was available in hatchback, saloon and cabriolet versions. Later, the GTE using a 2 litre fuel engine was introduced with all electronic dash and digital speedometer. Subsequently, the engine was revised again to a high performance version generating 156 hp.

The Vauxhall Astra Mark 3 was the first series to be known as the Opel Astra. This was also the first car to be sold by Holden. The Astra F was released in 1991, and was offered as a three or five-door hatchback, a sedan and a wagon. Astra saw two more generations - Mark 4 and Mark 5. In 1998, the manufacturing of the Astra F in Europe was phased out after a good 7 years run; whereas in Hungary, the Opel Astra Classic 1 continued to be produced from 1998 – 2003 and was later replaced by the Astra Classic 2. The Mk3, the first of the 'Astra Classic's' had a production span of 12 years.