Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe Opel is in Decatur Illinois and is claimed to have fewer than 40K on the clock. You'll need to decide if that low mileage is an indicator (see what I did there?) of its five-grand price being a deal or not.
The Hebrews left the Land of Goshen during the time of the Exodus, or so says the legend. Moses supposedly led the Israelites out of the Egyptian desert, the trip taking 40 years and interminable rounds of are we there yet?
It probably would have gone much faster had he had another kind of land, that being yesterday's 1987 Toyota Land Cruiser, which looked like it could tackle damn-near anything. Hell, it even had a snorkel intake so the parting of the Red Sea wouldn't have even been necessary! Unfortunately, according to 61% of you, that Land Cruiser's price was a Crack Pipe of biblical proportions.
You know the Bible is full of notations on relations - he sired such-and-such, and she begat the beguine, yada, yada, yada. Here's a fun car-connection that's strangely enough not found in the Bible- what do the Pontiac Fiero and today's 1970 Opel GT have in common? That's right party people, it's the basic structure of their front suspensions! Wow, you're like the Seattle Seahawks of automotive trivia! Now go riot in the streets or something.
The mid-engine Fiero's rear suspension was based on the FWD X-car (Chevy Citation, et al) but the parts that kept the front end from dragging on the pavement could be traced back to the Chevy Chevette, and that mini bow-tier went back even further, getting its goods from the Opel Kadett.
This GT is also Kadett-sired, although its sexy Brissonneau & Lotz-built body is a far cry from that family-plan Opel. In fact, the GT looks more closely related to the contemporary Chevy Corvette than anything in Opel's lineup. It also shares the American sports car's distain for easy luggage access by providing egress only through the doors and behind the high-back bucket seats.
Those seats look pretty good in this '70, and in fact so does the rest of the interior. One of my favorite parts of these GTs is the console-mounted lever (potentially mistaken for the e-brake) that when pulled rolls the car's eyes just like that girl in the bar did last Friday night when you tried to buy her a drink. Remember that?
With only 38,815 (unverified) miles to its name, the exterior also looks pretty good, with only a mumbly front bumper to mar the overall aesthetic. Aside from that flaw, its great to see the car rolling on its stock steelies and not befouled by any add-ons. When it comes to sports cars, they don't come much cleaner than these little Opels, and it's getting increasingly rare to find one in such original and lovely shape.
This one not only looks good - if its June of last year photo shoot highlights are to still be believed - but the seller says that it runs and drives well too. Don't expect too much out of the 83-bhp 1.9-litre and 4-speed gearbox however. Even though the car tips the scales at a relatively bantam weight 2,138 lbs, that combo is only able to manage a zero to sixty time of around 10.2 seconds, and will a top speed of 116 mph.
Following stints with a Tiger and a Karmann Ghia, Maxwell Smart (Don Adams, not Steve Carrell) ended up driving an Opel GT. This was after Buick - the brand's U.S. foster parent - became the sponsor of the Get Smart TV show. If you want to "get smart" you might too think about driving this mini-Corvette. To do so, you'd need to come up with $5,000, and an appreciation for traveling light.
What do you think about that price for this apparent jewel of an Opel? Should that make for a quick sale? Or, is this a GT with a price that's GTFO?
You decide!
Decatur Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to batphreak for the hookup!
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