Curbside Classic CA Vacation Edition: Super-Rare 1971 Opel Manta

Paul Niedermeyer
by Paul Niedermeyer

You never know what will wash ashore on the beaches of Half Moon Bay. Heading for the coffee/wifi cafe to send these dispatches, what do I find in the parking lot, but a pristine 1971 (or ’72) Manta. As you may remember, the best I could in Eugene was this ’74 in a carport that probably hadn’t been driven in some ten years.

But this Opel is still taking its elderly driver on her errands. And it was a stick too. There’s no doubt in my mind that this is a one-owna’ Manta. Even has the after-market/dealer installed rubber side protection strip. Must avoid parking lot dings, and keep the old Manta looking good for another decade or two! Parts? Why there’s that Buick dealer in San Mateo…

Paul Niedermeyer
Paul Niedermeyer

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  • Dave7 Dave7 on Jan 04, 2010

    Fantastic find. Always liked these but always thought that the front and rear styling looks like its from different cars - perhaps even different decades (rear 60s, front 70s).

  • Autobahner44 Autobahner44 on Jan 04, 2010

    I had a '74 Manta in college. I called it the "poor man's BMW" and it was a really fun and simple car to bang around in. Burgundy corduroy seats-chicks dug 'em...

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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