As General Motors celebrates the 10 millionth Astra rolling off the production line in  Bochum, Germany last week, GM Holden has extended its own 60th Anniversary celebrations to include a special edition Astra.

Available in hatch and wagon, the Astra 60th Anniversary Special Edition offers customers exceptional value with the inclusion of ESP®, 15-inch alloy wheels, and exclusive 60th Anniversary badging. This adds to a range of standard features including four airbags, steering wheel audio controls and air-conditioning.

Over 228,679 Astras have been sold in Australia to date, making Astra Holden’s second most popular nameplate behind Commodore, and Australia’s best-selling European import in 2007.

GM Holden’s Director of Marketing Philip Brook said the Astra 60th Anniversary Special Edition was a great way to celebrate the success of one of Holden’s most popular models.

“Since its launch, the Astra family has continued to grow both in Australia and around the globe and the introduction of the Astra 60th Anniversary Special Edition offers customers even greater safety, choice, versatility, and value.” said Mr Brook.

The Astra 60th Anniversary Special Edition is available in a range of colours including:

    * Casablanca White

    * Power Red

    * Star Silver Metallic^

    * Black Sapphire Metallic^

    * Pannacotta Metallic^

    * Metro Metallic^

On sale 1 June 2008, prices for the Astra 60th Anniversary Special Edition are as follows:

Astra 60th Anniversary Hatch (Manual) $20,990 drive away*

Astra 60th Anniversary Hatch (Auto) $22,990 drive away*

Astra 60th Anniversary Wagon (Auto) $25,790#

#Recommended Retail Price – Excludes dealer delivery and Government charges.

*Drive Away – Includes dealer delivery and Government charges.

ESP® is a registered trademark of Daimler Chrysler AG

^ Metallic paint an additional $360

A History of Astra

Worldwide Astra success story began in 1991

The Astra era began August 12, 1991 when the first F model – a magma-red station wagon – left GM Opel’s Bochum plant. With ten million units produced worldwide, the Astra is a long-established bestseller in almost 80 countries.

The front-wheel drive Astra is produced in eight plants on three continents. In Europe, the current models are built in Bochum, Germany; Antwerp, Belgium; Ellesmere Port, United Kingdom and Gliwice, Poland.

The British buy the most Astras. Last year, 119,082 units were sold in the U.K. The second-largest market is Germany (74,226), followed by Italy (43,128) and Spain (41,282). Australians bought almost 18,000 Holden Astras in 2007.

Three Astra model lines hold a host of sales records. The first generation (1991 - 1998) is still the best-selling Opel model ever: 4.13 million units were produced (excluding Opel Classic).

The second Astra generation launched in the spring of 1998 also boasts an impressive production figure of 3.8 million units. The third generation was launched in March 2004 and is well on the way to following in its predecessors’ footsteps: Already 1.9 million units have been sold.