1999 was a good year for Opel, it appears; this Astra is still traveling Germany’s Straßen 26 years later. I am at least the 3rd owner, though titles and transfers don’t appear to work the same here as they do back home. The original owner kept all their paperwork and had detailed notes in the manual. This will be helpful when I learn Car German, I am sure.

Rio Verde Pearl paint is barely chipped and faded where the top coat is finally starting to age. The front end reminds me of a similarly aged Honda Civic, the back end reminds me a bit of a Kia. The truncated hatch not held open by worn out struts hits me on the head while I try to shove a mattress box in the back while moving.

The American couple I bought it from were quite proud of it being automatic. I sheepishly told them this will be the first automatic transmission vehicle I have ever owned; the BMW i3 doesn’t count, it doesn’t have a transmission.

Sometimes the battery light stays on after the initial dash startup, and that means I have to rev the engine like this was an old RX8, cause otherwise the power steering won’t engage. The hopeful ‘S’ for Sport on the automatic shifter lever speaks of a time begone when the full 97HP was available. I can get to 130kmph on the Autobahn eventually. If I push 140, the font end starts to shake a bit so we just stick to 130. The heat works pretty well which is a definite plus in the wintery cold.

There’s a snowflake button on the side of the shift indicator that I am assuming it wants me to press when the snowflake shows up on the clock next to the exterior temperature indicator. I pressed it once when the roads were glistening promising reduced traction. I think it worked, but I also feel like the very soul exited the engine and left the Astra extra sluggish. I am told the AC does not work at all, which frankly, fine; we’ll see what the autobahn is like with the windows down I suppose.

Was there even Bluetooth at all in 1999? Certainly not in this vehicle. I play my music on the my phone speaker, which doesn’t sound awful; definitely not loud enough, however. The hand-me-down phone holder suction-cupped to the windshield stopped sucking (started sucking?) and won’t stick anymore. I had to get a new one, since I still rely on my navigation a lot. I got it in Dark Green to match the Rio Verde Pearl.