It was on a bleak spring morning in 1959 that a group of men in gray coats and fedora hats walked around an old industrial estate in Bochum, a drab mining town in the heart of the Ruhr region. They were directors of Adam Opel AG. They had just acquired the largest construction site of the 60s. A brand new car factory was to be built there from 1960. But for what? Nobody knew.
Everything was treated almost like a military secret. The reason: Opel, or rather parent company General Motors, invested billions here with the sole aim of defeating the hegemony of the VW 1200, the Volkswagen Beetle. And that hegemony was enormous: the Beetle produced by the millions had become the symbol of the Wirtschaftswunder for the Germans and the typical sound of the air-cooled boxer could be heard on all German streets.
Other manufacturers tried to beat the Beetle on its own terrain: compact, easy to produce, with the engine and drive in the back. NSU came up with the economical two-cylinder Prinz. Renault with the 4CV and with the beautiful Dauphine. Fiat with the compact and beautiful 600 and the 850, Simca with the cubist 1000. Each one more modern than the Volkswagen dating from the 30s. Fine cars. Successful too. But they didn't win in the sales figures. The buyers continued to opt en masse for the convincing quality and the chiseled trade-in value of the Beetle.
Opel took a different approach. VW boss Heinrich Nordhoff had said to the delight of the competition that the Beetle would only remain affordable and successful if it never changed radically. Such a statement is music to the ears of the competition. And so Opel decided to revive a pre-war concept, Opel's own 'Volkswagen', the Opel Kadett of 1936. That pre-war Kadett had been a simplified version of the Olympia, a grown car with some shrinkage. So why not make a smaller version of the mid-range Opel Rekord now? That was supposed to lure the Beetle customers to the Opel showroom.
The Anti-Beetle
How, we read that in the first Kadett brochures: “The engine is in the front, where it belongs, between the front wheels!” Bingo, 1:0 for the Kadett. “That creates space for a spacious trunk, so that no holiday luggage has to be left at home!” Second goal. “The slender window styles give you plenty of all-round view!” Third time knockout and “Our engines are water cooled, which means a long service life as well as a quiet interior and wonderful warmth, even in the coldest winter months!” Fourth, fifth and sixth base. “Our new engines are not only economical with precious petrol, but also designed for very efficient maintenance!” And that was number seven. The Kadett topped it off with a sleek, then fashionable interplay of lines with thin chrome fins, fresh paint colors, delicate chrome details and, to top it off, a price that barely surpassed that of the Beetle.
Both the new plant and the new car ran smoothly from day one. In 1963 the series was expanded with a nice Coupé and with a Car-A-Van, as the station wagon is called at Opel.
Design
What was that first Opel Kadett? It was everyone's friend with room for four adults and a large trunk. The 1000N engine was a newly designed 40 hp cast iron workhorse that could withstand high revs thanks to a high-lying camshaft and hollow rocker arms (GM patent). For an additional fee there was a 1000S version, which ran on premium petrol and produced 50 hp, and from 1964 the 55 hp 1100S engine could also be installed. The fully synchronized four-speed gearbox had a very short first and second gear, giving the car a lively impression in the city, and a long third and fourth gear, making the Kadettje quiet and economical on the long journey. The Opel Kadett was of course 'Autobahnfest' in good German tradition and could be driven continuously at top speed. The front axle had a transverse leaf spring, the rigid rear axle two longitudinal leaf springs and the brakes were borrowed from the Rekord A and therefore generously sized. A pleasant side effect was that all technology turned out to be virtually indestructible in practice. Okay, the lever was a long and thin case, but it sat directly in the gearbox and shifted very precisely. Due to the low weight and the small 12″ wheels, the Kadett was sensitive to crosswinds, but so were the competitors with the rear engine. And yes, it was a somewhat square design, but even the tallest people found plenty of headroom in it, and the trunk was simply the largest in its class.
It didn't take long before little Kompeltje from Bochum did indeed start eating beetles. The customers discovered that the quality of the youngest Opel was not inferior to Volkswagen, that a used Kadettje still yielded a sweet penny when traded in and above all that it had to be refueled less often.
Repayment by the Opel B-Kadett
In 1965 the B-Kadett took over the baton and the advance really started. The newcomer based on existing technology, but had grown in all directions and now accommodated five adults. In addition, there was also a four-door version. No beetle could compete with that. In 1968, exactly ten years after the gray-clad men walked around the bare construction site in Bochum, the Kompeltje beat the Beetle as Europe's best-selling car.
Also read:
- The Opel Kadett B. Success number of Opel.
- Opel B Kadett from Bert van Helden
- Opel Kadett GT / E. Rare and peppery coupe
- Vauxhall Viva, the British Kadett
- Opel Kadett B Coupé. On the road with a beloved classic
Economy and Opel, unfortunately there was little left of that in the 80s. My then Kadett-D 1.2S ran, if I was lucky, 1:11. But more often I had to refuel after 400km because the bottom of the 42 liter tank quickly came into the picture. And then I didn't even drive that crazy, but with four gears and 120 on the highway, the engine was already running at 4500 rpm. My car afterwards also drove 1:10, but then on LPG and was a Citroën BX 1.6.
More shocking I found the Kadett-E 1.8e I once had as a loaner car. Received with a full tank, drove a lot, but when refueling it turned out to have driven 1:10…. My own car then (Civic CRX) did easily 1:14.
Somewhere, Opel must have lost the economical (compared to the competition). Anyway, compared to a Beetle you don't have to do your best. But if you lose successively to a BX (1.6 on LPG) and then a Civic CRX (which last one was much sportier and much faster) then that's quite a shame… or the law of the braking lead.
My very first car was a 1969 stock B-Kadett with the small 1100N engine. On the long rides it drove about 1:13. I once made it to 1:15. The tank was 40 liters, it could be driven around 500 kilometers. That was nice when they had to serve in Germany. Later I briefly had a B-Kadett 1.2 with the 1200S engine, which drove a lot smoother, but the tank was also clearly empty earlier.
The undersigned owns a B, from 1972, with a long poker. That's exactly what I thought had something to do with it and no matter how scantily equipped the model is, it was just a nice car.
Despite the fact that the backrest is not adjustable, I had a good seat behind the steering wheel.
What was striking: the seeking handling, not only in strong winds. Do other Kadett drivers recognize or recognize this?
Furthermore, the speedometer turned out not to be very accurate, this only became clear when I once did a measurement on the basis of the number of hectometer signs that I passed within a certain time; the actual speed driven was almost 10 km/h lower than the meter indicated.
The cause lay in the wheels; these were the 12″ and I suspect the gauge was set up for a tire size bigger, in terms of circumference….
The proverbial economy in terms of consumption, there was nothing to argue with.
Just like the reliability.
Just think about that; a car with little fuss (read: electronics) that takes you everywhere and is easy to repair and maintain.
That is indeed what we are missing in 2021.
A cheap basic car, also cheap to repair, that will take us from A to B for many years without any problems.
Even a Fiat Panda nowadays is full of electronics and other nonsense that makes repairing it difficult or impossible, and is therefore much too expensive for what it is.
The emphasis these days is on showroom gadgets, which seem to be more important than a strong foundation.
A B-Kadett from 1972 already has the new rear axle, in 1968 the leaf springs were replaced by coil springs. If you notice instability, take a look at the rubbers and bolts of the front axle stabilizer bar. There may be some play or the bolts will break spontaneously. But that should be seen with every inspection. Other than that, just good tires and shock absorbers, that's all you can do. A B-Kadett is a somewhat top-heavy car with an exceptionally low mass (720 kg) and small 12″ wheels. That will never be a Porsche.
But it is more difficult to make a universal car for little money and of a high quality than a Porsche.
I think the difference in speedometer is because the Kadett used to come with 12” diagonal tires, which have a higher sidewall than the current 12” radial tires
Once had an Opel cadet nothing but misery other engine drive shaft never no Opel anymore.
I now drive Volvo Amazon about cars and quality speaking, those are only cars.
Our old Queen Beatrics has had two.
m.vr.gr.
John Gers
Has Beatrix had two Kadetts? How nice!
Those Kadetjes were just really great cars.
You could almost repair them with a pocket knife and under the hood you really had plenty of room to go about your business. You all have to come again. Although today's cars are even better because they can really have more miles between turns, while adjusting valves and replacing contact points is a wasting skill these days. However, the nostalgia for the drowsy of that time remains….and quite rightly so, of course. Just close my eyes and I can still hear that characteristic sound of the A Kadett. Stays beautiful!!
Adjusting the valves was possible on the Opels of that time with the engine running, so reaching the valve rocker arms was more work than adjusting them. The contact points were also a piece of cake. A strobe was not necessary, it was possible with any multimeter or even a separate 12V lamp.
The Solex carburetor 35PDSIT had two screws: mixture control screw and idle speed. If you didn't have a vacuum gauge, you could go a long way by screwing up the speed a little and then turning the mixture adjusting screw out until the engine started to run restlessly, then back half a turn and the speed back to 700. Done.
Nice story, nicely written.
I still come from the time when Opel was the best-selling brand in NL for years. Until 1974/75, when VW took over again with the expensive but successful Golf…
I myself grew up with Opel and Citroën.
Thank you Colijn
I assume that you mean the market in the home country. In the Netherlands, the Kadett has been the best-selling model for more than two decades, something Opel drew the reader's attention to through this booklet: https://www.boekenwurm.biz/books/view/id/101961605
Upon R.Hammond's arrival with Oliver, Mr. Clarkson was still undecided whether it might be a Moskvitch…
The old well-known story of “The Russians stole the Opel Kadett after the war”.
The reality, as usual, is different. At the Potsdam Conference, it was agreed between the occupying powers (the US, UK, France and USSR) that Germany had been an aggressor and that compensation should be paid. This was later confirmed and refined with the Treaty of Paris in 1947.
The total sum was approximately US$ 24 billion. Of that, about US$10 billion went to the country that suffered the most damage, the USSR. For that amount the USSR was allowed to dismantle and take half of all industry in its occupation zone (the later GDR) but also the production line of the Opel Kadett in Rüsselsheim, in the West. A complete harbor installation in Bremen also went east.
However, the Opel factories in Rüsselsheim were badly damaged and in fact drawings and some molds and presses were the only things the Russian engineers could save. The Moskvitch 1946-400 proposed at the end of 420 was made from drawings of the Opel Kadett and partly made by reverse engineering,
The US obtained few machines, they had enough of them themselves, but their compensation consisted of approximately US$10 billion worth of patents, patents, inventions, research, not to mention Operation Paperclip, thousands of German scientists who were given immunity if they were exposed to the US went to work. Incidentally, the Russians also gladly included the necessary highly qualified Germans in their ranks.
The British also got their share. Not for nothing they were the first after Germany to have a usable fighter jet ready, the Gloster Meteor was just as German as the Moskvitch 400 so well, Jeremy Clarkson, that was it.
The Opel Kadett A of Richard Hammond van easily beat the other participants in the Top Gear Botwana Special in 2007. Hammond loved his Opeltje so much that he affectionately called it “Oliver” and had it imported from Botswana and restored.
That Botswana special was really great indeed.
With the rifle a shot in the bottom to get the water out.
And The Hamster yells: “Oliveeeeeer”