When it comes to the most popular cars, bikes, and nameplates of all time, us enthusiasts usually have a good handle on the key statistics. The Toyota Corolla dominates all cars, the Honda Super Cub dominates all other bikes, and the Volkswagen Beetle had one of the longest production runs out there. But did you know the humble Opel Corsa has a lofty record all its own?
Funnily enough, you probably never think about the Corsa in the US. It was destined to reach North America under the Saturn brand in the 2010s, but the death of Saturn put paid to that dream. Regardless, the Corsa had a grand career that pretty much spanned the rest of the world.
Indeed, back in 1998, the Corsa was at its peak. For one short year, it was the best-selling car in the world.
You might think that this was all due to some immense launch hype, that the Corsa burst on the scene and took the world by storm. That’s actually anything but the case. The Corsa that dominated the charts in 1998 was not a new car. At this point, Opel was building the Corsa B, which had been on the market since 1993 in Europe. It was only five years into its run that it managed to pull off this banger feat.
The Corsa had a lot going for it. It was cheap, not unreliable, and it was available practically everywhere but the US and Canada. In 1998, it was on sale across Europe and South America, as well as Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, and Mexico.
With such a wide customer base, Opel shifted a full 910,839 units for the whole year. The Corsa was getting built all over the world at this point, with GM plants assembling Corsas on four continents.
To take the victory, the Corsa had to beat out some big names. It only narrowly pipped the Toyota Corolla, which chalked up 906,953 sales for the year. Volkswagen came in third with 892,367 units of the Golf, while the Toyota Camry had a strong showing in fourth at 697,258 cars sold.
Bodystyles were many and varied, which was sort of the Corsa’s specialty. You could get the regular 3-door or 5-door hatchbacks, or a four-door sedan if you were a three-box kinda person. There was also a five-door wagon or “estate” version, and a two-door utility to boot. The latter was sold as the Chevrolet Chevy in Mexico, and is about as cute as a ute can be.
By virtue of being in so many markets, the Corsa also went under many names. You could get a Vauxhall Corsa in the UK, or an Opel Corsa in Europe. Chile got the Chevrolet Corsa Plus, while Mexico got the hilarious Chevrolet Chevy. Holden called it the Barina, while Japan called it the Opel Vita. After its banger year, the Corsa B eventually ended up in China as the Buick or Chevrolet Sail, though it was previously known by a catchier name—the Meilu JJ7090.
The Corsa B had a long run, too. Europe was done with it by 2000, but Argentina and Brazil kept pumping these things out until 2016. By that point, Opel in Europe was two years into building the Corsa E.
Indeed, the Corsa often doesn’t get due credit as one of the world’s most popular cars—at least from English-speaking media. As a nameplate, it actually racked up 18 million sales by 2007 alone. Today, it’s still popular in Europe, though it’s no longer a big deal in Australia like it once was.
In any case, raise a glass to the Opel Corsa B. It might not have been 1998’s best, or fairest, but it was certainly the highest-selling of all. That’s worth celebrating.
Image credits: Opel, Mercado Libre
“Opel’s front-wheel-drive platform was never seen as reliable as Toyota’s Corolla, nor as refined as Volkswagen’s Golf” — although true, it is still weird to compare Corsa to Corolla or Golf. it is a sub-compact, or a supermini as the Brits call it. a direct competitor to Yaris or a VW Polo.
apples-to-apples comparison would be Corolla to Astra. Which Toyota still would have won hands down
You’re not wrong, but I think the point was that the Corolla and golf were moving a similar number of vehicles while the yaris and polo sold in far fewer quantities.
They are being compared because the Corolla and Golf were the 2nd and 3rd best selling cars that year, respectively, not because they were in the same class
The Astra was/is the Golf sized competitor.
Beep beep! Barina!
I thought the Holden Barina was based on the Suzuki Swift/Cultus
First and second gens were. Third gen was Corsa based.
And later ones were Daewoo. “Holden Barina” was more of a job title than a design lineage.
And to be fair, I believe that marketing tagline was more a thing with the first and second gens?
Eh, my marketing deep cut may have missed the technically correct mark 🙂
Beep beep! Barina!
I thought the Holden Barina was based on the Suzuki Swift/Cultus
First and second gens were. Third gen was Corsa based.
And later ones were Daewoo. “Holden Barina” was more of a job title than a design lineage.
And to be fair, I believe that marketing tagline was more a thing with the first and second gens?
Eh, my marketing deep cut may have missed the technically correct mark 🙂
Its amazing how this car was so successful in Mexico that replaced the Beetle on the big volume sales, it was a competition between the Chevy and the Nissan Tsuru. So successful that GM Design Center in Mexico created the second generation just for the mexican market, it even had OnStar in the last model years.
Correct. The Chevy, Tsuru and the 2dr taxis no longer allowed in Mexico City what ended up being the Bug’s death sentence
Its amazing how this car was so successful in Mexico that replaced the Beetle on the big volume sales, it was a competition between the Chevy and the Nissan Tsuru. So successful that GM Design Center in Mexico created the second generation just for the mexican market, it even had OnStar in the last model years.
Correct. The Chevy, Tsuru and the 2dr taxis no longer allowed in Mexico City what ended up being the Bug’s death sentence
They were absolutely everywhere in Portugal back then. Their Isuzu supplied diesels were absolute (slow) beasts.
They were absolutely everywhere in Portugal back then. Their Isuzu supplied diesels were absolute (slow) beasts.
There was also bigger Corsa sold as Opel Combo in Europe. Also tax evasion special called Opel Corsa Van – 3d hatchback with blocked out rear windows and no back seats.
This is interesting topic in general, not really known in US – van versions of small economy hatchbacks. They take regular 3d hatchback, turn the back seat into cargo area and sell it as commercial vehicle. Great for small businesses and tax evasion.
That was my 205 back then. Those were the days… https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Peugeot_205_Multi_Durisotti.jpg
There was also bigger Corsa sold as Opel Combo in Europe. Also tax evasion special called Opel Corsa Van – 3d hatchback with blocked out rear windows and no back seats.
This is interesting topic in general, not really known in US – van versions of small economy hatchbacks. They take regular 3d hatchback, turn the back seat into cargo area and sell it as commercial vehicle. Great for small businesses and tax evasion.
That was my 205 back then. Those were the days… https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Peugeot_205_Multi_Durisotti.jpg
They should’ve sold it here instead of the shitty Cavalier
Nah… the Corsa was about the size of the Suzuki Swift/Geo Metro.
And from a reliability/durability perspective, we actually got the better small car in North America.
And as an added bonus, it was built in Canada… Ingersoll Ontario to be exact:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAMI_Assembly
It was the Astra that was more like the size of the Cavalier.
Also note that the 2008+ Chevy Cruze was essentially an Astra as it was on the same platform
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_Delta_platform#Delta_II
Don’t forget we briefly got the Astra here as a saturn! Didn’t sell so well, but I’m not sure if that was the cars fault, or the slowly collapsing saturn brand.
oops
But still, GM sold multiple cars in the Cavalier class (Cavalier/Sunfire, Prizm, Saturn S-series), so why not multiple cars in the segment below? The Swift/Metro and the Corsa 😛
“ so why not multiple cars in the segment below?”
Because they are low-margin/low-profit vehicles to begin with.
In my view, the only way to make money is what Lee Iacocca did with the Dodge Omni in the mid 1980s… paired the engine options down to one GOOD option and produce one equipment package for a great price.
The fact that GM sold multiple cars with different platforms was a mistake in my view.
Also in my view, Saturn itself was a huge, costly mistake that resulting in more unnecessary duplication/overhead in the company. The money spent on Saturn should have been spent on improving/updating/rationalizing existing product.
Nope, the Astra was also smaller – the Vectra (GM2900) was the Cavalier equivalent. The first gen was even sold as the Vauxhall Cavalier in the UK. The Ascona (Vectra’s predecessor) was Opel’s J-car.
The Cavalier was roomier and had more powahhh!
Totally different segment, but I would’ve certainly preferred the Corsa over the crappy Daewoo based Aveo
They should’ve sold it here instead of the shitty Cavalier
Nah… the Corsa was about the size of the Suzuki Swift/Geo Metro.
And from a reliability/durability perspective, we actually got the better small car in North America.
And as an added bonus, it was built in Canada… Ingersoll Ontario to be exact:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAMI_Assembly
It was the Astra that was more like the size of the Cavalier.
Also note that the 2008+ Chevy Cruze was essentially an Astra as it was on the same platform
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_Delta_platform#Delta_II
Don’t forget we briefly got the Astra here as a saturn! Didn’t sell so well, but I’m not sure if that was the cars fault, or the slowly collapsing saturn brand.
oops
But still, GM sold multiple cars in the Cavalier class (Cavalier/Sunfire, Prizm, Saturn S-series), so why not multiple cars in the segment below? The Swift/Metro and the Corsa 😛
“ so why not multiple cars in the segment below?”
Because they are low-margin/low-profit vehicles to begin with.
In my view, the only way to make money is what Lee Iacocca did with the Dodge Omni in the mid 1980s… paired the engine options down to one GOOD option and produce one equipment package for a great price.
The fact that GM sold multiple cars with different platforms was a mistake in my view.
Also in my view, Saturn itself was a huge, costly mistake that resulting in more unnecessary duplication/overhead in the company. The money spent on Saturn should have been spent on improving/updating/rationalizing existing product.
The Cavalier was roomier and had more powahhh!
Totally different segment, but I would’ve certainly preferred the Corsa over the crappy Daewoo based Aveo
That is interesting. Definitely wouldn’t have assumed anything unseated the Corolla.
Not necessarily a car for me but on behalf of many: damn you, footprint laws
https://www.theautopian.com/why-two-average-americans-shouldnt-actually-ride-in-this-two-seat-sports-car/
Maybe it’s not just the footprint…
That is interesting. Definitely wouldn’t have assumed anything unseated the Corolla.
Not necessarily a car for me but on behalf of many: damn you, footprint laws
https://www.theautopian.com/why-two-average-americans-shouldnt-actually-ride-in-this-two-seat-sports-car/
Maybe it’s not just the footprint…
The wagon or estate is really nice, and aged really well. But here in Brazil most of them become workhorses, findind one in a decent shape and reasonably priced is almost impossible nowadays.
Pretty much what happened to the Chevy UTEs in Mexico. It’s next to impossible to find a clean one.
The same in Argentina. But so many of them keep running, in not exactly fine conditions. You can’t throw a stone blindfolded without hitting one, being run over by another, and the taxi taking you to the hospital will be a Corsa too.
The wagon or estate is really nice, and aged really well. But here in Brazil most of them become workhorses, findind one in a decent shape and reasonably priced is almost impossible nowadays.
Pretty much what happened to the Chevy UTEs in Mexico. It’s next to impossible to find a clean one.
The same in Argentina. But so many of them keep running, in not exactly fine conditions. You can’t throw a stone blindfolded without hitting one, being run over by another, and the taxi taking you to the hospital will be a Corsa too.
The Chevrolet Chevy; it’s like if your name was Boutros Boutros-Ghali*.
*Former Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Or if Elton John had a son and named him John… making him little John John.
The Chevrolet Chevy; it’s like if your name was Boutros Boutros-Ghali*.
*Former Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Or if Elton John had a son and named him John… making him little John John.
I’m thinking about by a pair of the utilities out of Mexico. Then I can have two utes.
Uhhhh… did you say “yutes”?
“Then I can have two utes.”
No… you’d have two utilitii… pronounced ‘you-til-it-tie’
I’m thinking about by a pair of the utilities out of Mexico. Then I can have two utes.
Uhhhh… did you say “yutes”?
“Then I can have two utes.”
No… you’d have two utilitii… pronounced ‘you-til-it-tie’
The corsa looks like a car that would be stacked 4-6 abreast and two high right next to a giant ramp for a monster truck rally. Convince me otherwise.
It does have a punchable face, doesn’t it?
Saw one yesterday, which was probably 15-20 years old, pretty knackered, but still driving. It looked to be one MOT failure away from the scrappy.
The corsa looks like a car that would be stacked 4-6 abreast and two high right next to a giant ramp for a monster truck rally. Convince me otherwise.
It does have a punchable face, doesn’t it?
Saw one yesterday, which was probably 15-20 years old, pretty knackered, but still driving. It looked to be one MOT failure away from the scrappy.
I remember living in New Mexico and Texas in the mid-to-late 90s and seeing these roaming around American roads with Mexican plates. They were definitely unusual looking for American roads, but I’d have been all giddy to see one of the ute versions.
I remember living in New Mexico and Texas in the mid-to-late 90s and seeing these roaming around American roads with Mexican plates. They were definitely unusual looking for American roads, but I’d have been all giddy to see one of the ute versions.
I’ve always loved the european compacts. Not in the sense that they would be fun to drive, but I like the idea of a no-frills, very utilitarian, not-ugly little thing that I can run about town in and not give a fuck about. The same way I admire a Toyota Tercel or Echo.
I’ve always loved the european compacts. Not in the sense that they would be fun to drive, but I like the idea of a no-frills, very utilitarian, not-ugly little thing that I can run about town in and not give a fuck about. The same way I admire a Toyota Tercel or Echo.