The General Motors T-car was a platform designation for a worldwide series of rear-wheel drive, unibody subcompact cars. It was GM's first attempt to develop a small car to be sold internationally with engineering assistance from Isuzu Motors of Japan, and GM's Opel Division of Germany. GM's European Divisions Vauxhall and Opel, and Australian Division Holden were already producing small vehicles for their respective local markets, but subcompact car production wasn't being done by GM in North America until the introduction of the Vega earlier. Subcompacts from international divisions were being offered in North America as captive imports.
A stretched version of the platform was developed by Opel to create the mid-size (extended sub-compact) 'U-Car', which formed the basis of the Opel Ascona B and Vauxhall Cavalier Mk1
The T-platform was superseded by the T80 platform, whilst the J-body platform replaced the U-Cars - with both the T80 and J-body platforms being front wheel drive.
Body styles; (1) Coupe; (2) 2-door sedan (B11); (3) 3-door hatchback (B08); (4) 4-door sedan (B69); (5) 5-door hatchback (B68) (wheelbase 2in. longer than the others); (w) 3-door wagon(B15); (t) Pickup truck (v) Sedan delivery (B70) (Panel Van).
Opel Automobile GmbH, usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Group prior to its merger with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to form Stellantis in 2021. Most of the Opel lineup is marketed under the Vauxhall Motors brand in the United Kingdom since the 1980s. Some Opel vehicles were badge-engineered in Australia under the Holden brand until 2020, in North America and China under the Buick, Saturn, and Cadillac brands, and in South America under the Chevrolet brand.
Vauxhall Motors Limited is a British car company headquartered in Chalton, Bedfordshire, England. Vauxhall became a subsidiary of Stellantis in January 2021.
The Vauxhall Viva is a small family car that was produced by Vauxhall in a succession of three versions between 1963 and 1979. These were designated the HA, HB and HC series.
The Vauxhall Chevette is a supermini car that was manufactured by Vauxhall in the United Kingdom from 1975 to 1984. It was Vauxhall's version of the "T-Car" small-car family from Vauxhall's parent General Motors (GM), and based primarily on the Opel Kadett C. The family also included the Isuzu Gemini in Japan, the Holden Gemini in Australia, the Chevrolet Chevette in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Argentina, and in the U.S. and Canada it was also rebadged as the Pontiac Acadian/Pontiac T1000.
The Opel Astra is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) developed and produced by the German automaker Opel since 1991, currently at its sixth generation. It was first launched in September 1991 as a direct replacement to the Opel Kadett. As of 2021, the car slots between the smaller Corsa supermini and the larger Insignia large family car.
The Pontiac Sunbird is a model line that was manufactured and marketed by Pontiac from the 1976 to the 1994 model years. Loosely deriving its name from the Pontiac Firebird, the Sunbird was introduced as the eventual replacement for the Pontiac Astre, replacing it entirely in 1978 as the smallest Pontiac.
The Chevrolet Chevette is a front-engine, rear-drive subcompact manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet for model years 1976–1987 as a three-door or five-door hatchback. Introduced in North America in September 1975, the Chevette superseded the Vega as Chevrolet's entry-level subcompact, and sold 2.8 million units over 12 years. The Chevette was the best-selling small car in the U.S. for model years 1979 and 1980.
The Holden Torana is a mid-sized car that was manufactured by Holden from 1967 to 1980. The name apparently comes from a word meaning "to fly" in an unconfirmed Aboriginal Australian language. The original HB series Torana was released in 1967 and was a four-cylinder compact vehicle closely based on the British Vauxhall Viva HB series of 1966–1970.
The Opel Ascona is a large family car that was produced by the German automaker Opel from 1970 to 1988. It was produced in three separate generations, beginning with rear-wheel-drive and ending up as a front-wheel drive J-car derivative. The Ascona was developed to fill the gap in the Opel range as the Opel Rekord was gradually growing in size.
The Isuzu Piazza is a small, sporty 3-door liftback coupé which was manufactured by Isuzu from 1981 until 1992 in two generations. The Isuzu Piazza was marketed as the Isuzu Impulse in North America and as the Holden Piazza in Australia.
The Isuzu Gemini is a subcompact car produced by the Japanese automaker Isuzu from 1974 until 2000. The same basic product was built and/or sold under several other names, sometimes by other General Motors brands, in various markets around the world. While the first generation was of a rear-wheel drive design, later versions were all front-wheel-drive, and the last two generations were no more than badge-engineered Honda Domani until the name was retired in 2000.
The Holden Gemini is a compact car that was produced by Holden and sold in Australasia from 1975 to 1987. It was based on the Japanese Isuzu Gemini, one of the many models based on the GM T-car platform.
The Opel Combo is a panel van and leisure activity vehicle from the German automaker Opel. The Combo first appeared in 1993, a second generation model was introduced in 2001, and the third was manufactured from December 2011 to December 2017, based on the Fiat Doblò. The name "Combo" was previously applied as a suffix to a three-door panel van body style of Opel Kadett E from 1986 until 1993.
General Motors New Zealand Limited, formerly Holden New Zealand Limited, is a subsidiary of General Motors that distributes GM' motor vehicles, engines, components and parts in New Zealand.
The Opel K 180 is an automobile which was manufactured by GM Argentina S.A. from 1974 to 1978. It was a variation of General Motors' T-car platform, also used in the Opel Kadett, Chevrolet Chevette and Isuzu Gemini. The K 180 differed from the Kadett in that it had an Argentinian-designed 1.8-litre engine, derived from the locally built Chevrolet 194 engine. Fitted with a downdraught Bendix carburetor and with a 8.2:1 compression ratio, it develops a claimed 83 hp (62 kW) SAE at 5200 rpm.
The GMC Chevette is an automobile which was manufactured from 1992 to 1995 by General Motors do Brasil specifically for the Argentine market, where it was sold by both Chevrolet and Renault dealers. This was the result of a deal having been made whereby Argentine CIADEA-made Renault Trafics were sold as "Chevrolets" in Brazil in return for GM do Brasil being allowed to export Chevettes to Argentina.
The Opel Kadett C is a small family car which was produced by the German automobile manufacturer Opel from 1973 to 1979. The Kadett C, which was the fourth generation of the Opel Kadett, was released in August 1973, and was Opel's version of the General Motors "T-Car". It was the last small Opel to feature rear-wheel drive, and remained in production at Opel's Bochum plant until July 1979, by which time Opel had produced 1,701,076. Of these, 52% had been exported outside West Germany, most of them to markets in other parts of western Europe. In other world markets, however, various badge engineered versions of the Kadett C remained in production as late as the mid-1990s under other GM brand names.
The Opel Corsa is a supermini car engineered and produced by the German automobile manufacturer Opel since 1982. Throughout its existence, it has been sold under a variety of other brands owned by General Motors and also spawned various other derivatives.
General Motors reused the T-body designation, beginning in 1979 with the front-wheel drive Opel Kadett D and the Vauxhall Astra Mk I. This was part of a global strategy by GM to introduce a new front-wheel drive architecture for its sub-compact models, and would be further developed into the J-body platform which would cover the compact size segment.