European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 11, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday August 11, 1988 the stars and stripes Page 13 car Corner the opel Wadett Psi convertible ready for fair weather. Plus a car for All seasons. But if it looks like rain the top can be put up in a few seconds. Is photos Wadett convertible a summer Joy we recently had the pleasure of driving the opel Wadett Psi convertible and what better time of year to Check out a car like this it s a summertime pleas ure As it should be because the whole idea is the Joy of zipping along with the top Down on a Nice Day. The opel Wadett convertible now in its second summer season is strictly a super Little car and As far As we can deter mine fault free. It is great fun to drive it is fast Over 120 Mph in the a diversion that we had and the aerodynamic design insures minimum air turbulence when the top is Down and Low wind noise when the top is up. With the top up the drag coefficient is a Low 0.34, and one can appreciate the sleek design with Only a casual look at this car. Bertone of Italy helped develop the opel design concept and it is Ber tone that produces the car in its production facilities at the Northern italian . Opel a general motors subsidiary of fers the convertible Wadett in two ver Sions one with a 1.6-liter engine and the other a Psi Model with 2-liter Power the engines in either Case offering the same Power with or without the catalytic converter system. We had the 2-liter Wadett Psi converti ble on test through Courtesy of opel of Russel sheim and although we had driven both 1.6 and 2-liter versions briefly during the press introduction a year ago we looked Forward to having a longer Outing with the Psi. It is a relatively Quick car going from Zero to 62 Mph in 9.8 secondhand Topping out at 122 Mph. The 4-Cylin Der fuel injected engine of 115 horsepower burned Lead free Gas and returned about 23 Miles per gallon under All conditions. The tank holds 13.7 Gallons. Opel s current Wadett series is a successfully established one so in today s review let s look primarily at the convertible aspects of the Bertone designed adept Psi. About half our time was spent in Rainy weather and the other half in perfect convertible conditions so we had the Opportunity to Check out this front wheel drive car from All aspects. On our Way to cover the truck grand prix at the curb urging the rain rarely stopped but the top proved watertight never letting a drop in. The Psi was quite stable in the wet and despite Strong winds it remained fairly noise free even at the 90 Mph Mark. The top is constructed of five layers of fabric and features a heated rear window. So even during the Winter season the Psi convertible would be compatible with All conditions. Putting the top up or Down can be performed easily by one person and either operation takes about 30 seconds. It s Only a matter of releasing two lever sat the Corners of the Windscreen. When putting the top up you can feel the lever snap in during engagement so you Are always certain that the top is correctly in place and secure. As an owner of several convertibles in the Good old Days of broken fingernails and top misfits the 1940s, 50s and 60s with mrs triumphs and Alf Romeos we speak with authority when we say that the Wadett s top operation and fit Are remarkably Good. A Well designed Roll bar is integrated into the body and there s an Interior Light at its top Center. The Roll bar is not Only for safety purposes but it gives Theka Dett optimum body rigidity. The Roll bar plus additional steel reinforcements make the topless body As rigid As that of a Sedan opel says. And indeed it is. With the top Down the car is tight and rattle free regardless of Road surface. There is extremely Littlewind noise or air turbulence for the Driver and front seat passenger and it s also three spoke sports steering wheel. Minimal for the two in Back who enjoy fair degree of room. On Cool mornings the Heater comes on quickly and this i appreciated in open air driving especially in the autumn. To guard against theft the Glove Box i lockable there s also an open storage bin above the Glove Box and the separate rear setbacks have special locks. When in the upright position the setbacks can Only be unlocked by separate seat levers inside the trunk thus preventing Access to the Luggage. If Only two or three people Are travel ing the capacity of the Luggage Compart ment can be increased by folding Down the separately hinged rear setbacks. I Only one setback is folded Down there s still room for a third occupant. Looking at other aspects of the car the test Psi s instrument panel featured cd electronic instrumentation and the panel was just right not too big an not too Garish. The cd bar readouts at the left took care of Oil pressure amps temperature and Gas there was a Speed readout Center in Large figures and the Tach was on the right. It was All quit easy to read Many designs we Veen countered Are no totally accurate and easy to become accustomed to. The Tach redline is 7,000 and our performance figures were As follows first gear 33 Mph second 56 third 84fourth, 104 and fifth 122. So the Wadett Psi convertible is no Slouch to say the least. While cruising at 87 Mph in fifth the engine was turning Only 4,000 rpm. On Back roads the suspension prove somewhat stiff but the ride was just right the Road holding impressive and there was Good feel for the Road. The test car was nicely turned out i Silver with a Black top and Black Grey Interior trim. One key did it All doors Glove Box and Gas filler Cap. The 1.6-liter version Sells in the27,000 Mark Range about $14,600while the Wadett Psi convertible Dis cussed in this report is in the 31,000 Mark area about $16,700prices including the German vat tax. The tax free Cost would be much less of course. The cars Are not sold with . Specifications alas but if you re in Europe for a while or permanently and Are interested in a convertible the Wadett offers extremely Good value for the Money. Randy Barnet Auto columnist pm wants to increase is share of overseas Market Detroit up the newly elected president of general motors of Europe says pm plans to significantly increase its sales of North american made vehicles in overseas markets As it adds cars like its new front wheel drive gm10 coupes to its Export list. We Are looking at expanding our volume but not the infrastructure said Robert j. Eaton in an address to the automotive news Congress in Detroit. Eaton however could not immediately say How much Export sales would increase in overseas markets which include Europe the Middle East Africa Asia and latin America. Export sales for the current Model year Are project Dat 74,000, up 55 percent from 47,658 units sold Over seas in 1987 and Well above the 35,079 cars and trucks sold in 1986, said David Bodkin another pm executive. Certain pm models Are More popular in some parts of the world than in others Bodkin said. For instance the sporty Chevrolet Camaro is pm s top Selling Export in Japan while the Chevrolet Caprice Sedan and suburban truck Are preferred in the Middle East. The Chevrolet Corsica Pontiac firebird and Pon Tiac Bonneville Sedan Are popular in Europe Bodkin said. As far As imports from Europe Are concerned Eaton said plans to sell top of the me models in America from pm s opel subsidiary in West Germany have been placed on hold because of the unfavourable cur Rency Exchange rate Between the Dollar and the Ger Man Mark. Assuming the Exchange rate becomes favourable we Hope to see opel Here again Eaton said. But so far it is not  Eaton previously vice president of pm s technical affairs group also told the Congress that the giant car maker is looking at car designs which will be aimed at the rapidly expanding population of older Ameri  said such designs May include higher seats larger doors and More legible instrumentation plus feature such As larger controls to make it easier for arthritis to operate  30 million americans Are now 65 or older with that age group to expand dramatically by the Turnof the Century a government study shows