Anyone who was in the market for a new car in 1993 and wanted to make a sensible choice was considering an Opel Vectra. Opel’s middle class car had all the features that made Opel the favorite friend of all Dutch motorists at that time. It was nice and spacious, quiet enough, reasonably economical, proven and reliable, not expensive and almost completely anonymous. Bank director Jos Kuijsters was known as a man who liked to spend his guilders wisely. And bank manager or not, he didn’t need more than a gray Opel Vectra. On September 3, 1993, he became the owner of the GX-JG-21, a Vectra 1.8 GLS sedan, with Opel’s proven C18NZ engine under the hood, which delivered its 90 hp to the road via an automatic transmission. A radio and a sliding/tilting roof were the only options that Jos allowed himself. In short, he made a wise choice.
I often used to sit in the backseat of the Opel Vectra
Jos’ grandson Lars (28) misses his grandfather. He died in July 2019 at the age of 89, but not before teaching Lars that you should always use your money wisely, and that cars can still be beautiful even then. Lars spent many kilometers in the backseat of his grandfather’s Vectra. They drove to the Efteling, but also to the local hardware store, for example, on a route that Lars now regularly drives and that reminds him of all those rides with his grandfather. During such a ride, it was not uncommon to hear the exclamation from behind the wheel: “Damn, listen to that engine. It drives like a sewing machine!” Grandpa Kuijsters was an Opel man. He wore out some Asconas and Rekords, he loved German quality. “He bought the Vectra because my father took over his Ascona,” says Lars. “Grandpa then traded in my father’s Renault 9 for the Vectra, and on the purchase invoice I see that he negotiated well, because he got a nice price back for the Renault.” It is just one of the strong car stories that grandfather Kuijsters left behind. He preferred to tell them himself. “Secretly he was quite an enthusiast,” says Lars. That makes it appropriate that Grandpa Kuijsters was Lars’ coach on the first evening he was allowed to drive a car independently. Lars learned the trade from a man who loved driving. When that man had to stop driving, he only saw one way for the rest of his Vectra’s life. It had to be from Lars.
The Opel Vectra A after the facelift, which it received in 1992.
Friends do have an opinion about the Vectra
That happened in 2018. As a college student with a part-time job at the local supermarket, Lars may not have really needed a car, but that didn’t mean he enjoyed it any less. The Vectra and Lars have already covered approximately 30,000 kilometers together and the Opel proved to be as uncomplicated and reliable as half of the Netherlands remembers the Vectra. Only once did Lars end up on the hard shoulder. “Then we ran out of petrol,” he laughs. “That day I learned that the car itself is a lot more reliable than the petrol gauge.” Not that it is a reason to say goodbye to the Vectra. Lars has every reason not to do that, he says: “It belonged to grandpa and grandma after all. My grandmother is still alive and although the car does not really have any emotional value for her, she still often talks about how they enjoyed driving it together. She also thought it was expensive.” Grandma Kuijsters is just one of the many people with an opinion about the Vectra. Lars’ friends, for example, think theirs of the gray Opel: “They’re a bit giggly about it. “Is that thing still running?” they ask, and then they ask when I’ll get rid of it.”
The 1.8 of the Opel Vectra. In the first years it was still a 1.8 S with carburetor, but this one has injection.
Keep despite another car
Lars has certainly considered getting rid of it, but he can’t do it. “I understand why they say that, because if I’m honest, the Vectra is not really beautiful. It’s just a rather old-fashioned car. I didn’t – and still don’t – really feel the need to have my own car. When I got the Vectra, I thought: I’ll see how long I keep it. But there is no reason to get rid of it. It drives nicely, very naturally and mechanically. Not special, but good. And yes, I prefer Mercedes and Volvos. I like the C-class and the S60. Not so long ago I was about to buy a V60. This was canceled due to the corona crisis, but I had already decided that I would not get rid of the Vectra. Then I would store it somewhere. You don’t realize it immediately when you see it, but these Vectras are becoming rare. I think there are only about four hundred left in the Netherlands. Maybe they will increase in value, although that is not the reason I want to keep it. I want to keep it so I can drive it to the hardware store I used to go to with Grandpa. Because of those trips, this car has stayed with me. And I think back to the times we drove together after I got the car. He really enjoyed that.”
A discarded cross-Vectra in a meadow near Lars’ home contrasts sharply with the beauty of the Vectra that Lars inherited from his grandfather.
Lars is a controlled rider
Lars describes himself as a ‘controlled driver’. In this he is quite different from his grandfather, because he remembers him as a great driver. “Grandpa was one of those people who, behind the wheel, criticized old people who did not drive fast enough for his liking. He also did that when he was old himself,” laughs Lars. “But he also drove well. He has never suffered damage. Grandpa was very careful with his car, he always took it to the dealer.”
With every memory Lars recalls, it becomes clearer that this Vectra has long since passed the status of ‘car’. The Vectra is a family heirloom and ties Grandpa Kuijsters to Lars and his family even after his death. Lars is well aware of this: “This car has been in our family for thirty years, you don’t just throw it away. Hardly anyone finds an Opel Vectra special, but for me this Opel Vectra is very special. No Volvo or Mercedes can match that.”
This story was previously published in AutoWeek Classics 1 2022
2023-11-12 11:15:57
#grandpa #bought #Opel #Vectra #grandson #Lars
