The Opel Kadett as a beast from Buick
05/04/2014
In Europe, the Opel Kadett B was an undisputed success. General Motors also imported the car to the USA as a Volkswagen Beetle competitor, where it was then marketed through 1600 selected Buick dealers.
To boost sales, there was a lot of advertising and in 1968, for example, the Opel Rallye Kadett was positioned as the "Mini-Brute", which can be translated as small brute, beast, barbarian, savage or monster.
Whether this choice of term was a happy one is questionable. In the advertisements, the sporty model was referred to as the Buick Opel Rallye Kadett, but in general the car was simply sold as an "Opel".
Up to 102 hp was promised and six different two- and four-door models were offered.
Visually, the US models were a mix of Kadett and Olympia, and adaptations to American regulations were also necessary.
Around 430,000 units were exported to the United States between 1966 and 1972, which was nothing compared to the success of the Beetle. Was it the advertising?
