Opel vs. vauxhall

[FrankU]

Hi I hope this is not too far off topic but I've always wondered about the difference between Opel and Vauxhall. Are those just two different names for the same brand or those different brands?
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[Jamie (K)]

I don't know if they are exactly the same, but both brands are owned by General Motors. This means that some of the cars would be the same or nearly the same, and just have different name plates in different countries. They may be adapted a little to fit the laws and consumer tastes of different nations.

Sometimes General Motors ignores the actual origin of the car when they put the name on it. When I was 19, they were selling Isuzu cars in the US under the Opel name, and recently they've come up with a plan to sell Daewoo cars outside the US as Chevrolets. You can read about this kind of thing in this article: http://www.forbes.com/columnists/2004/10/14/cz_jf_1014flint.html