Opel Kadett

The Opel Kadett was a compact-sized automobile from the German Opel company, which is part of General Motors’ European division, offered between 1937 and 1940, then from 1962 to 1992. Production facilities of the pre-war Kadett were transported to Russia after WW II, and thus this early Kadett formed the basis for the Moskvitch 400/420. GM South Africa extended the Opel Kadett name until 1999.

Kadett A

The first Opel Kadett after the war appeared in October 1962; 649,512 cars were built until July 1965. It was later called the Kadett A. In addition to the sedan there was a L (luxury model), a coupe, and a station wagon (called Caravan). The new Opel OHV engine was available as 1.0 with 40 hp and as 1.0 S with 48 hp.

Kadett B

The Opel Kadett B was sold from 1966 to 1973, with two- and four-door sedans (the latter in notchback and, from 1967, also in fastback form), a three-door station wagon, and two coupés (regular and fastback, or Coupé F). One stand-out model from this generation was the Opel Kadett Rallye, with a 1.9 litre engine. Also the two-seat Opel GT was heavily based on Kadett B components, its body made by a French contractor.

The Kadett was briefly sold in the United States through Buick dealers in the mid to late 1960s. US Kadetts were later granted the front end and trim of the new Opel Olympia, introduced in 1966 as an upscale-version of the Kadett. Kadett A and B were technically simple cars whose task was to compete with the market leader, VW´s Beetle. This lack of sophistication caused the US car magazine "Car & Driver" to publish an annihilating test of the Kadett in 1968 featuring photos of the car in a car junkyard. Reportedly, GM withdrew any ads from C/D for several months as a consequence.

Kadett C

The Kadett C appeared in 1973, and was Opel's version of GM's 'T-Car', also built in Japan by Isuzu and sold as the Isuzu Gemini in Asian markets and Australia and many other names. In South Korea, Daewoo Motors built a version known as the Daewoo Maepsy. The Kadett C formed the basis of the British Vauxhall Chevette, which had a restyled front end, and used a 1256cc OHV (over head valve) Vauxhall engine rather than the 1196cc OHV Opel engine. It was notable for the inclusion of a hatchback version named City-Kadett, based on the UK Vauxhall Chevette hatchback, which was a first for Opel. Although Kadett C production ended in 1979, the Chevette was produced until 1983. Interestingly, the Vauxhall Chevette was imported to Germany starting in 1979 to satisfy the needs of the rear wheel drive traditionalists and was quite a success for a year or two.