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 1990. 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, 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.

The Kadett was briefly sold in the United States through Buick dealers in the late 1960s.

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 and many other names. In South Korea, Daewoo Motors built a version known as the Daewoo Maepsy. It was notable for the inclusion of a hatchback version, based on the US Chevrolet Chevette, which was a first for Opel. The Kadett C formed the basis of the British Vauxhall Chevette, which had a restyled front end, and used a Vauxhall engine. Although Kadett C production ended in 1979, the Chevette was produced until 1983.

The Kadett C was briefly exported to the United States as the Buick–Opel. After one year, the equivalent Isuzu Gemini took its place in the American market.

Kadett D

The fourth generation car, introduced in 1979 and known as the Kadett D. The British version of the Kadett D was known as the Vauxhall Astra Mk.1, and was launched in April, 1980. All models were designed as three or five door hatchbacks and estates or station wagons. There were also two and four-door sedans, which used the same bodyshells as the hatchbacks, but these were soon dropped.

Technologically, the Kadett D was a major departure, as GM's first front wheel drive car. It also introduced the Family II engine design with an single overhead camshaft, aluminium alloy cylinder head, hydraulic valve lifters, with capacities of 1300 and 1600 cc, and had a unique transaxle design which allowed the clutch to be replaced without removing the transmission unit. Later, an 1800 cc version was introduced for the Kadett/Astra GTE model. This range of engines was also used for later models of the Corsa/Nova, and the mid-sized Cavalier/Ascona.

Kadett E

The Kadett E was introduced in 1984, and was voted Car of the Year in 1985, largely due to its advanced aerodynamic body styling. The 1984 model was also developed into a more conventional "three box" design with a boot (trunk), badged as the Vauxhall Belmont in the UK and the Opel Monza in South Africa. A convertible version was also available, for the first time in 1987. For the 1984 model, capacities were raised to 1400, 1800 and a new 2000 cm³ engine, again used on the GSi and Vauxhall Astra GTE. In 1988, a 16-valve twin-cam version was developed for a high performance GSi/GTE model, yielding 156 bhp (115 kW) in manufactured form.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, South African Kadett GSis were nicknamed the Superboss, equipped with a more powerful two-litre engine developing 125 kW, and were successful in touring car competitions in that country.

The Kadett E was introduced in Brazil as the Chevrolet Kadett, but the three-door station wagon was called the Chevrolet Ipanema.

It formed the basis of the Daewoo Le Mans (later known as the Daewoo Cielo, Racer and Nexia) in South Korea, which was sold in the United States as the Pontiac LeMans, and in Canada (initially) as the Passport Optima. The Nexia is still being produced at UzDaewoo plant in Asaka, Uzbekistan.

Kadett F

In 1991, GM Europe decided to standardize model names across its two brands, and Opel adopted sister company Vauxhall's name for the Kadett, Astra, for the replacement car which débuted that year, for Europe. Only in South Africa did the Kadett name continue on the first Opel Astra hatchback, until 1999, when all models took the Astra name.

External links

• German Opel Kadett A Website
• Dutch Opel Kadett C Club