By Gerry Murphy

A wise marketing man once told me that if you wrap the green flag around a product, Irish people will take to it immediately. Opel once advertised themselves as ‘Ireland’s number one supporter’ when their name was emblazed on the chest of Irish soccer players in the golden days of Jack Charlton and qualification for the Euros in 1988 and the World Cups in 1990 and 1994.

During those heady days, Opel was Ireland’s number one car company, with sales exceeding all others. In later years, sales waned both in Ireland and across Europe, and Opel slipped down the league table.

However, things appear to be changing and Opel is now part of the Stellantis group – alongside Peugeot, Citroen, Fiat, Jeep, and Alfa Romeo – giving fresh impetus to the brand. A host of new products have been launched and are beginning to reignite the famous German car manufacturer.

Here in Ireland Opel have a new home too. Now distributed by the Gowan Group under a very experienced team things, are looking up and these new products we’ll be coming on the market over the coming months.

One of the most familiar names is the Astra, which picked up the 2023 Continental Tyres Compact Irish Car of the Year in November. Actually, I voted for it as my overall car of the year simply because it was available to all buyers in whatever powertrain they liked and it is one of the best cars to drive.

Now we have an all-electric version to look forward to this Spring. One great thing about this new model – like the Opel Corsa before it – is that it will basically look just like all the other Astra models in the range except for a discreet badging on the boot lid.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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