• In the United Kingdom, the Omega A was marketed as the second-generation Vauxhall Carlton (the first-generation Vauxhall Carlton having been a rebadged Opel Rekord E2) and the Omega B generation as Vauxhall Omega. Between 2001 and 2007, Vauxhall sold the Australian-made
Monaro coupe, which was derived from the Holden Commodore, itself based on the Omega B platform. • In Brazil, between August 1992 and 1998, the Omega A was built and marketed as a Chevrolet Omega sedan or Omega Suprema in station wagon form (station wagon production ended in 1996). Between 1999 and 2006, this Chevrolet was the Omega B-derived
Holden Commodore imported from Australia. • In North America, a
badge-engineered version of the Omega B and Omega B FL was marketed as the Cadillac Catera. Between 2004 and 2006, Pontiac reintroduced and sold its
GTO as a coupe based on the Australian-made Monaro, which was derived from the
Holden Commodore. • In Australia, reengineered versions of the Opel Omega A were manufactured by
Holden (a
GM subsidiary) as the second generation
Commodore and its derivates (including long wheelbase wagons, utility and luxury sedans,
Statesman and Caprice) between 1988 and 1997. Between 1997 and 2006,
Holden instead adapted the Omega B for its third generation as the
Commodore and derivates, which now also included the Monaro coupe. These Australian sedans are larger in all body dimensions and have featured less sophisticated suspension designs, different interior styling, and powertrains ranging from a
Buick-derived 3.8-litre V6 between 1988 and 2003 or 5.0-litre V8 between 1988 and 1999, both manufactured by
Holden, to a new 3.6-litre V6 from 2003 also built and exported by Holden and fully imported Chevrolet V8 engines, beginning with a 5.7 litre version in 1999, upgraded to a 260 kW 6.0 litre version in 2006. These vehicles were equally available in New Zealand. • Since 1999, the Omega B based second generation
Holden Commodore and its derivatives were exported to North America, Brazil, and the United Kingdom in sedan and coupe form as noted above, but also as a
Chevrolet Lumina in the Middle East and South Africa. The Holden Commodore's 1999 long-wheelbase luxury derivative,
WH-series Statesman/Caprice, was also exported to the Middle East as the fifth-generation
Holden Caprice. In 2005, as the
WK Statesman, this vehicle was sold in China as the Buick Royaum and in Korea as the Daewoo Statesman. • The Omega was one of the first models introduced by Opel after their return to the Philippines in 1997. Shortly after the brand's discontinuation in the Philippine market, it was replaced by the Chevrolet Lumina, but instead of being based on the Holden Commodore like other markets, the Philippines received a rebadged Chinese-market
Buick Regal sourced from
Shanghai GM.
End of the Omega In the United Kingdom, the Vauxhall Omega proved to be a successful model, despite being slated in many reviews for heavy depreciation and unreliability. Omegas and Carltons were a regular sight on United Kingdom roads, sporting police livery and as covert traffic surveillance cars. However, just four years after the introduction of its latest incarnation,
Omega B2, and seventeen years since introduction of
Omega A, production of this model ended. On 25 June 2003, the last Omega rolled out of the factory in Rüsselsheim – it was a silver 3.2 L V6 Omega B2, number 797,011. Following the demise of its direct rivals, the
Ford Scorpio and
Rover 800, the former due to its controversial styling, Opel/Vauxhall found themselves competing against BMW's
5 Series, with minimal sales success. Apart from the Australian re-engineered Holden Commodore models that carried on until 2006 for the sedan (wagons and utilities until 2007), production of the Omega ended in 2003. The position that the Omega held as Opel's flagship model (after the demise of the
Senator) would be taken over by the smaller
Opel Signum which used an extended-length platform of the
Opel Vectra and incorporated practical features of both
MPVs and
station wagons into one package. Remaining stocks were sold into 2004. In the Philippines, the Omega was replaced by the
Chevrolet Lumina. Stories and photographs of a "new" successor appeared in the motoring press one year later. In the case of
Auto Express, though, its October 2004 article simply featured the
Holden Torana TT36 concept car, which itself previewed the 2006
Holden Commodore. Nevertheless, Holden contributed in the Omega badge remaining alive by it, for the entry-level model of its new Commodore. Unlike prior models since 1978, this new Holden was no longer based on an Omega platform. Ironically, a version of this Commodore would get exported to the UK market as the
Vauxhall VXR8 from 2007 to 2017, effectively becoming the flagship of the brand. Being a high-performance sports sedan, it was the first such vehicle in Vauxhall's lineup since the
Lotus Carlton/Omega. As of July 2020, only 3297 Vauxhall Omegas and 306 Carltons (including some rebadged
Rekords) are left on the road in the United Kingdom. ==References==