By now the increases in fuel prices were encouraging middle market customers to downsize, at a time when the Opel Rekord had, over the years, grown to occupy a market slot at the top end of the "medium-sized" category in northern Europe, being already seen as a "large" family car in Italy and France.

Various cars based on the Rekord D were also built at General Motors plants outside West Germany, both within and beyond Europe.

The car that appeared at the end of December 1971 featured an all-new body styled by Chuck Jordan.

The Rekord D was close in form to the Vauxhall Victor "Transcontinental" launched three months later by Opel's sister company in England.

The shared design philosophy and aspirations of the European General Motors cousins are hard to gainsay, however, when the cars are viewed together.

There was concern that incorporating the letter "D" might confuse customers in a country where "D" at the end of the name of a "Mercedes-Benz" denoted a diesel engine.

For certain export markets such as Austria Opel also offered a three-door delivery van combining the driving experience of a car with the load carrying capability of a small commercial vehicle: this was essentially identical to the estate except that the rear side windows were replaced with metal panels.

Opel's so-called "CIH" engine configuration allowed the Rekord to incorporate the low bonnet lines that style-conscious product development departments called for.

The smallest power unit at launch, and the one that would be the top seller with this model, was a 1698 cc engine with the low 8.2:1 compression ratio and 66 PS (49 kW) as on the predecessor.

Customers wanting more performance from their Rekord could specify the "1900 S" engine of 1897 cc, providing a maximum power output of 97 PS (71 kW) supported by a 9.8:1 compression ratio and a twin chamber carburetter.

For the oil companies the addition of lead to fuel provided a simple and inexpensive way to vary octane levels.

[3] To compensate for the loss of performance on the "1900 S" Opel now increased the cylinder bores further and introduced, in September 1975, a 1979 cc version of the engine for their Rekord "2000 S".

Neither its power nor its performance matched the "1900 H" version of the old 106 hp Opel Rekord C however, which presumably reflected changed priorities in the market place following the fuel shortages and price shocks of the mid 1970s.

The four cylinder 2068 cc diesel unit was not based on the Rekord's "CIH" petrol engines, but was a newer design.

For certain export market, notably Italy, where the 2-litre engine size was a critical threshold in terms of car tax rates, a smaller diesel unit became available from December 1974.

The standard transmission package for the saloon and estate bodied Rekord Ds featured a manual all-synchromesh four-speed gearbox, controlled on the early versions by a column mounted lever.

At the back there was a live axle tamed with four trailing connector arms, a Panhard rod like system and an anti-roll bar, the wheels being sprung, as at the front, using "progressive rate" coil springs and shock absorbers.

The million units target was in fact breached in the late summer of 1976: The Rekord D nevertheless sold at a slightly slower rate than its predecessor, and sales slowed towards the end of its production run.

The oil crisis of 1973 had a lasting impact on European sales of larger cars as customers perceived that the "era of (relatively) cheap fuel" was gone for ever.

Among cars closer in size to its own class the Audi 100, introduced in 1968 but with initial availability hampered by shortage of production capacity, also became an increasingly formidable competitor for the Opel Rekord as the decade advanced.

The 3800 and the 4100 were mostly the same, with the 3800 receiving a more spartan interior with vinyl seats and without standard head rests, and with different hubcaps.

[8] The six-cylinder engines were built in South Africa but had hitherto been restricted to installation in larger, Holden-sourced cars.

[10] Larger cars received an ever-smaller market share in South Africa as sanctions began to kick in and gas prices increased steadily.