Dhe year begins with a little more freedom for Germans in the GDR: The visa requirement for Poland is lifted. A good 14 days later, following an instruction from the Ministry of the Interior, the term “Fräulein” officially disappears in West Germany. Meanwhile, the new Opel Rekord has been rolling off the assembly line in Rüsselsheim since December 1971, today as a D record in the annals, until August 1973 it is still called Rekord II. The series was a huge success, with more than 1.1 million units sold, including a diesel model for the first time. The record is, so to speak, the harbinger of a very strong automotive year. Many models that still have a good name today were new on the market. First of all, the Ford Consul / Granada should be mentioned, which debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in March, together with the Renault R5, which has not been forgotten to this day, and more forgotten models such as the Fiat 132. The Opel Commodore, the six-cylinder versions of the record, is also allowed in Geneva , for the first time in the spotlight. And the Jensen Healey caused quite a stir.
The Ford Consul / Granada replaced the 17, 20 and 26 M. The Granada was simply the more luxurious model, it was sold until 1985, in 1977 there was a complete makeover. In contrast, the consul disappeared from the program in January 1975. The Ford was available as a sedan and also as a station wagon and coupé, with a length of 4.57 meters it was a direct competitor of the Opel Rekord.
Electric prototypes from Renault and Mercedes-Benz
Away from the car world, in the spring of 1972, the Bloody Sunday of Derry on January 30th, 14 demonstrators were shot by British paratroopers. The Northern Ireland conflict will preoccupy Europe for many years to come. At the end of February, a Lufthansa plane was hijacked to Aden, and the federal government pays a ransom of five million dollars.
It may come as a surprise that electromobility was already being discussed back then. A large symposium on the subject will be held in Brussels in March, Renault will be sending four electric R4s as prototypes, and Mercedes-Benz will be sending an electric delivery van. The heavy lead batteries are identified as the greatest difficulty. At the end of March, Vicky Leandros won the Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson with “Après Toi”. At the end of April, the constructive vote of no confidence in Chancellor Willy Brandt in the Bundestag failed. His opponent Rainer Barzel was sure of his victory. In June, Bayern Munich will be German football champions in a kind of final in the Olympic Stadium, which has just opened, with a 5-1 win over Schalke 04. The miners later consoled themselves with the DFB Cup, and Germany became European football champions for the first time.
Looking back on 1972
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A strong year in the car
On June 3, the transit agreement with the GDR came into force, two days earlier RAF top terrorist Andreas Baader had been arrested in Frankfurt. In September the world looks to the Olympics, which start so happily and end with great tragedy. Arab terrorists attacked the Israeli team; after an unsuccessful attempt at liberation, all nine hostages died at Fürstenfeldbruck airport, and two more had already been murdered. Five terrorists are shot, an observing policeman who does not intervene in the fight dies from a stray bullet. A fiasco. The German authorities were completely overwhelmed by the situation. As a consequence, among other things, the GSG 9 is founded. The three arrested terrorists were released at the end of October 1972 after another Lufthansa plane was hijacked. Two of them were executed years later by the Israeli secret service Mossad. One allegedly still lives somewhere in Africa today.
The Audi 80 immediately became a market hit
The attack on the games makes the world hold its breath, they are interrupted but not canceled as some are demanding. To this day there is still a shadow over the Munich Games. Lots of new cars on show at auto shows in London, Paris and Turin this fall are a welcome distraction. VW had already replaced the 411 with the 412 with its distinctive twin headlights in August. Also new in the summer is the 4.18 meter long Audi 80, initially only as a two-door model, which immediately became a market hit. It is the first modular car from the VW Group and comes a year later as the VW Passat. In 1972 the 80s engines still had a modest 55, 75, 85 or 100 hp.
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