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- Excerpt from page 100:
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- While there was lots of excitement and
spring fever in the luxury department, major manufacturers had little to show at Geneva.
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- GM's Opel used the show mostly to give their
Asconas (Buick's Opel 1900s in the U.S.) some more pep and sales appeal. An "SR"
rallye version was introduced, next to a true racing version developed by Opel's
engineering whiz Klaus Steinmetz (of Abarth and BMW fame); the latter is said to have a
power output in excess of 200 hp at 7400 rpm, and a top speed of 137 mph!
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- Also in Opel's pit was an economy version of
the GT coupe, the GT/J: somewhat simpler in its looks and finish, the "J" will
be a few hundred dollars cheaper than the base version. Opel hopes that this economy coupe
will revive sales of the model - which has been more successful in the U.S. than on
European markets. There was also talk of pressure to give the Diplomat an assignment in
America.
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- Last among Opel's efforts was a Spider
developed by Intermeccanica of Turin, using an Opel Diplomat engine and suspension, over a
slightly shorter chassis. This Spider, known as the Indra, is to be sold on an
experimental basis by selected Opel dealers in Europe.
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