I'm starting to think a serious conversation about the design will not be possible?
I wonder if you and I are looking at the same car?
The PFL Omega looks exactly what it is: Vauxhall's late 80s/early 90s styling cues applied to the Carlton bodyshell and interior. Look at the wing to bonnet/headlamp/bumper and door mirror to screen fits, door handles, bumpers all match both the mk3 Cavalier and the equivalent Astra. The exterior works well as a whole because it is based on a car that was utterly modern when introduced and was well proportioned, although the wheel sizes and styles do place it in time. The interior hasn't aged as well; the heater dials, door cards and upholstery look very dated.
The FL did the same thing but although the smoother bumpers and larger wheels work well, the grille still looks poorly integrated. The interior only lacks a large screen to look thoroughly up to date.
Steinmetz stuff just looks tacky and obviously aftermarket to me.
Irmscher is better integrated, but doesn't add anything worthwhile.
The PFL compares well to both E34 and E39 BMWs, although the E39 is the contemporary car.
Ford's Granada/Ultima change was a bizarre direction to take, and never sold as well as the car it was based on/replaced for a number of good reasons.
Large French cars hve never sold well in the UK, and the few Peugeot 604/Citroen XM/Renault Safrane(?) sold quickly disappeared.
Jaguars of the period were still stuck in their can't be bothered to style the new car phase, and aren't really a competitor.
I find it quite impossible for us to be looking at different cars, since I backed all my points with pictures.
Yes, we are most definitely looking at the same car.
And I'm not seeing how the Omega B1 is typical late 80's/early 90's Opel. Yes, since we have started being pedantic, this is what the cars are. Opel.
They are designed and mostly built in Germany. Vauxhall is basically badge engineering. A Vauxhall Omega is no more of a Vauxhall than a Cadillac Catera is a real Cadillac.
But back on topic, would you mind posting the pictures of the Opels which were current when the Omega B came out which looked a lot like it? Because the Omega B1 doesn't look like the Vectra A if that's what you are saying. Yes, they will obviously share parts from the bin. Like I said the Omega B1 is not un-Opel. But that is very different from looking like one another.
But I find it interesting that you mention design lines integration and brings up the Omega FL. I will just leave it at that as I really don't want to bring the FL car too much into the thread. This is about the PFL original design.
We will have to disagree about the interior too. I think it aged very well. It will not look current and neither does the FL's with or without a large screen. But I think this is missing the point. If I want or need an interior which looks current I will just buy a new car. But the PFL interior still looks good today. I agree about the heater dials though. But it's the only weak part of the interior IMO:
But later cars came with automatic climate control and that looks fine IMO:
The thing is, I used to like the FL interior better as well, till I saw the PFL full leather black interior:
I think the above interior looks better and more sporty. The plain cloth interior's door cards are not much to my liking. But the above looks great. Specially if instead of wood, which I always find tacky or too conservative, you have just plain gloss black:
The black looks very contemporary IMO. But if you prefer aluminum:
As for wheels, well, today if you want it to look more up to date you can put any wheels or tires you want. So not a big deal.
As for Steinmetz looking aftermarket, this is the point of tuning. People pay for a Brabus because it looks different from the stock version. People will pay a lot for exclusivity. Not many of them are interested in paying a premium just to have a car which looks very similar to the stock one. The Steinmetz has a much more aggressive look than the Irmscher and a much stronger presence. The PFL Irmscher barely looks any different from the stock car. The FL Irmscher is a little better. But it looks too soft IMO, which is ironic since somebody suggested the PFL car looks effeminate.
On top of all that, the Irmscher Omegas are just a look package, which IMO is pointless. Again if we are to be pedantic , the Irmscher Omega is a "Ricer" Omega, as this is what the term means. Visual modifications without performance enhancements. Body kit and no engine to back it up. I myself dislike the term. But this is how they call it. So for me it's the Steinmetz. But looks is naturally very subjective.
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Topic: The Opel Omega B1 (aka Vauxhall Omega PFL) Design (Read 12339 times)