Opel Rekord Series E

Opel Rekord Series E
Overview
Manufacturer	Opel (General Motors)
Also called	Chevrolet Rekord (ZA) Daewoo Royale (ROK) Saehan Rekord (ROK) Vauxhall Carlton (UK)
Production	1977–1986 1980–1988 (Indonesia, 3-door panel van only)[1]
Assembly	Germany: Rüsselsheim (Opel Automobile) Indonesia: Jakarta (PT General Motor) South Africa: Port Elizabeth (GMSA, Delta)
Body and chassis
Class	Large family car (D)
Body style	2/4-door sedan/saloon 3/5-door wagon/estate 3-door panel van
Layout	FR layout
Platform	GM V platform
Related	Holden Commodore Opel Commodore Vauxhall Viceroy
Chronology
Predecessor	Opel Rekord Series D
Successor	Opel Omega

The Opel Rekord Series E is a large family car that replaced the Rekord D on Opel's Rüsselsheim production lines in August 1977, following the end of the summer vacation plant shut-down.^[2] It shared its wheelbase and inherited most of its engines from its predecessor, but the bodies were completely new.

In October 1982, the Rekord E was extensively reworked, retaining the central portion of the body, the same windows and the principal elements of the substructure, but with redesigned front and back ends and with several significant new engines. The pre- and post-facelift versions are commonly referred to as the E1 and E2, respectively.

The Rekord E's nine-year production run was far longer than that of any previous generation of Opel Rekord. It became the third Opel Rekord to exceed a million units produced, but it took longer to reach that target than its predecessor - bearing in mind this total now also included its Vauxhall Carlton sister model which was produced for the UK market. By then, eye-watering increases in fuel prices had persuaded many middle-market customers to downsize. The Opel Rekord was perceived as a large family car even in its West German home market where, traditionally, family cars were a little larger than in southern Europe. The Rekord (and later the Omega) would also come under pressure from the entry-level models of German luxury brands such as BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz - the beginning of an industry trend which would, by the end of the 1990s, see mass market brands abandon the D/E-segment completely.

The Rekord E was sold in the UK badged as the Vauxhall Carlton, initially identified by a reworked bonnet/hood panel, and after 1982 differentiated by little more than the badges. Despite the UK branding, the Carltons were all produced at Rüsselsheim, leaving Vauxhall's British plants to concentrate on Cavaliers, Chevettes, Vivas and their successors.

The car was developed by Opel and a direct development of a succession of previous Opel Rekords, but during the closing decades of the twentieth century General Motors displayed a growing strategic interest in internationalizing their products, and the underpinnings of the Rekord E became known as the General Motors "V-platform". Cars based on the Rekord E (V-platform) were also built at several General Motors plants outside Europe.