Good wine needs no wreath. That certainly applies to this cream-white Opel Kadett, which sees the sunlight again after many years. In the bygone years, the car was a formidable competitor to the Volkswagen Beetle. The style was much more modern and more appealing to many.
By: Dirk de Jong
The new owner of the Kadett, Sieds van Dellen, is of the younger generation, but his father remembers well how much alive the Opel generation was at the time. As far as we know, the previous owner kept the Opel in the garage for no less than 10 years before it was sold.
The European King-size compact
It is only 3,92 cm long, but the interior and luggage compartment are remarkably spacious. As Opel put it in its commercials at the time: The Opel Kadett is a luxury car in every way. Everything is included in the equipment. (Even a car heater!!) The finish meets the highest demands, it is pleasant to drive.
cherished
The photos prove how the car was cherished in the past. The finish is still very beautiful, the paintwork shines. It is clear that the previous owner took great care of it. Look at the details, the chrome hubcaps, the wheel trim rings, the bumpers of old-fashioned chrome. This 56-year-old is even equipped with a metal sliding roof, so light and fresh air are guaranteed. It is still a car that you quickly embrace. It is economical, spacious, handy and even quite spicy.
Also read:
- Opel Kadett. The Return of the Kadett
- Opel Kadett B Coupé. On the road with a beloved classic
- GM Stir-Lec I. Hybrid prototype with the body of the Opel Kadett-B Coupé
- Opel Olympia A: the sympathetic luxury brother of the Kadett B
- Opel Kadett GT / E. Rare and peppery coupe
My friend's mother was not happy when after some tinkering with my bike and clutch adjustment it suddenly let go and I parked the front wheel of my BMW R25 in her door
This was my 2nd car, an Opel Kadett that I had a lot of fun with and with which I had the first and hopefully last collision in my 54 years of driving. Much later I had another B Kadett, but it rusted so bad I didn't have it long. They were reliable cars that, if you kept up with them a little, always worked. There were hardly any faults and always easy to solve.
Back then, Opels were still quality products. My Astra in conjunction with the stingy warranty of Opel Nederland has disappointed me so much that I will not soon buy an Opel again. The merger with Peugeot also does not really give much confidence. Then prefer Japanese/Korean.
Never understood why this rather elegant little car was built so short, to be replaced by the, in my view, rather clumsy B Kadett.
Before the farmers could buy a real one, Opel was known as the farmers Mercedes. Solid, spacious, reliable. Now world famous for “Oliver”.
Nice square, spacious and affordable car with a maximum speed of 140 km/h. Which sporty reconstruction father did not want such a useful/racing cart for his family and leisure time? Then Opel still understood what they were waiting for. Head of family and/or driver, everyone a Kadett.
VW has adopted that smart idea (as is often the case) with the Golf: 180 km/h or more on the speedometer. Result: Every sporty citizen wanted a Golf and gone was the Kadett.
An aunt of mine had 3 cadets from 1965 until the 80s.
She never left her village and the distance from home to work was 1,5 km
After barely 20.000 km, her cars were worn down to the wire (the engine never got to operating temperature with her)
This has always stayed with me when I see cars with very low mileage for sale for a lot of money.
They were really straightforward affordable cars