Javillac
During the 20th century, the American industrial group General Motors managed to establish itself in various parts of the planet, acquiring brands such as Opel in Germany, Vauxhall in England and Holden in Australia, which were enormously popular in their respective markets.
The idea of creating a new brand emerges in South Africa in 1968, a country that has many more automotive curiosities than it may seem a priori. In this market General Motors sold cars from Opel, Vauxhall, Chevrolet and Pontiac, so in some cases there was internal competition between models, especially between the first two brands.
In this way, a car is created that is baptized as GM Ranger, and is advertised under the slogan of “South Africa's own car.” This vehicle really wasn't anything new, rather a little Frankenstein made of bits from various brands or one of the clearest examples of “badge engineering".
The Ranger was born in order to comply with the agreements that the South African government imposed on GM and It was mainly based on the European Opel Rekord, a model with which it shared a body.. Aesthetically, it was easily distinguished by having a Vauxhall front, while the mechanics were used by Chevrolet in the United States.
The engines were four-cylinder in-line inherited from the Chevrolet Nova., also known as Chevy II. In America this engine was no longer offered in 1970, but it found a new life in South Africa being offered in two different displacements; 2,1 and 2,5 liters.
GM'S FRANKESTEIN ARRIVES IN EUROPE
On the old continent the situation was complicated. While Opel was going through a moment of enormous popularity and growth, the English firm Vauxhall was going through a bad time to which quality problems and strikes were added. on assembly lines that resulted in a loss of interest on the part of the public.
For this reason, the Belgian and Swiss division of General Motors decided to look for an alternative to the Vauxhalls. The objective was offer a large two-door model, but Vauxhall only offered the Victor in four-door bodies. For some reason instead of selling the coupe variant of the Opel Rekord they decided that selling the Ranger to Europe would be a better idea.
It began to be marketed in 1970, initially in Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg and Switzerland. In order to compete in sales with the Vauxhall Victor iInitially only the coupe version of the Ranger was offered, a car that would be assembled in Belgium and Switzerland.
The decision makes no sense at the business level and any other solution through the brands that GM had under its belt at that time would have been easier and more logical. Furthermore, they arrived in Europe 2,5-liter inline six-cylinder mechanicals from Opel, and a four-door variant was also offered which makes this story even more meaningless.
In 1972, a second generation of the model appeared, the Ranger B, marketed in Europe as Ranger II, and which replaced the Ranger A. The resemblance was even greater with the new Opel Rekord D, a reason that caused it to stop being sold in South Africa in 1973 and led to its European decline. During this time, a 2,8-liter six-cylinder version appeared equipped with a double carburetor that developed 140 HP and was the most powerful of the entire range.
The cessation of Swiss production came in 1975 motivated by the rise in wages in the country, a situation that caused the car to no longer be profitable. After years of declining popularity In 1978 came the definitive end of the Ranger, when it stopped manufacturing in Belgium with the appearance of the modern Opel Rekord E.
General Motors seemed to learn its lesson with this car and since then They tried to give many of their releases a global focus, with cars from different brands sharing bodies and components.
Photos: GM
