Javi Martin
Opel Kadett. Just by seeing or hearing this name, many will come to mind some acronyms that, today, are mythical: GSi. Three simple letters that gave name to the most performance versions of the Kadett, with a very special mention for the Kadett E, the generation of the German compact launched on the market back in the already distant 1984. But it is not the GSi that we are going to talk about on this occasion, but the Opel Kadett E, the last iteration of the German model, which was replaced in the 90s by the Opel Astra. A name, by the way, that had already been used in the United Kingdom for some years, specifically since the launch of the Opel Kadett D, which on British soil was marketed as Vauxhall Astra.
By then, General Motors was firmly at the controls and there was no hint of what would end up happening 30 years later. The Americans took control of Opel in 1929 and had nothing to do with Vauxhall, a brand that General Motors had acquired in 1907. It took until the 70s for Vauxhall to start selling rebranded Opel models., having previously coexisted with both brands in the market. From 1970 Opel disappeared from the UK, leaving all the work to Vauxhall. A logical move. Well, Vauxhall had much more roots in British lands than Opel and thus avoided unnecessary competition between brands and great cost savings.
When the Opel Kadett D was launched, it was put on the road in the UK as the Vauxhall Astra II, although it was basically the same car. It was tremendously successful. Drawing attention from the first moment due to its design, which boasted very good aerodynamics. However, under its new appearance, the same suspensions, the same brakes and the same steering, among other minor things, had been maintained as the previous Kadett D, although, obviously, suitably revised and modified.
This new Kadett liked so much that he was awarded the prize "European Car of the Year 1985". An award that fell, for the first time, into the hands of General Motor, having been very close to achieving it on previous occasions. As with the Kadett D. Which was surpassed by the Lancia Delta and or the Ascona. Which he lost to the Renault 19. Anyway, It must be recognized that this award has a lot of marketing. Well, the commercial life of the model is not taken into account (sales, breakdowns, how it supports the passage of time...) and that is why it is easy to find vehicles that have been a fiasco, proudly wearing the "Best Car of the Year" award. But, as sometimes happens (many, in fact), they were right with the Kadett E, as it turned out to be a reliable car and, furthermore, a true sales success with 3.779.289 units sold worldwide.
The other Opel Kadett
Say "around the world" it's not a figure of speech. Actually, the Opel Kadett was marketed almost all over the world. But not as Opel Kadett, but under the logo of another manufacturer. General Motors, let's not forget, is and was an industrial conglomerate that controlled (and controls) a large number of brands and has collaboration agreements with many others. So he took advantage of that situation to expand the marketing of the Kadett to other regions. Mainly to the Americas. Where it was sold under two different brands and neither was Opel. And in South Korea, from where it was taken to other regions and, again, none of them wore the lightning emblem.
If we except the Vauxhall Astra II, the first twin to appear did so in Asian lands. In South Korea more specifically. There, in 1986, the marketing of the Daewoo LeMans began. A name with which they wanted to refer to the durability and resistance of the cars that participated in the French test. It was hardly changed from the Kadett, but it did sport, as expected, the Daewoo logo and little else. It was manufactured until 1994, when the second generation was presented, which was called Daewoo Cielo.
However, regarding the issue of denominations, a small paragraph must be made. Because apparently a huge amount of the most diverse names were used. Outside of its home market, South Korea, the car was marketed under the name Asüna GT, Asüna SE, Daewoo 1,5i. Daewoo Fantasy, Daewoo Pointer, Daewoo Racer, Passport Optima and to top it off, Pontiac LeMans, always depending on the market to which it was directed. For example, Asüna GT and Asüna SE was the name for Canada, the Daewoo 1.5i was marketed in Australia and the Daewoo Fantasy was the Kadett which was sold in Thailand. The Daewoo Pinter and Daewoo Racer were the units destined for China (the Guangtong GTQ 5010X was also sold there). The Passport Optima was a version for Canada and the Pontiac LeMans was marketed in the United States and New Zealand.
But the thing does not end here, because there is a Kadett “by Daewoo” that we met here in Europe: the Daewoo Nexia. The export of these models began in 1995, first in the United Kingdom and then to the rest of Europe. However, The Daewoo Nexia had little of the Opel Kadett and was basically a small evolution and an adaptation to the European market of the Daewoo Cielo, which in turn, was based on the restyling that the European Kadett underwent. It was the first time that Daewoo had marketed its cars outside its borders and it was a small preview of what was to come. Daewoo currently no longer exists, but it opened the door to other brands and Hyundai and Kia picked up their baton.
South America also had its own Kadett
As can be seen, the life of the Opel Kadett E was very varied, it was even sold in places like Uzbekistan, where it was known as Chevrolet Nexia. In any case, neither of these twin brothers of the Opel Kadett was up to the original, especially in terms of benefits. The most powerful of those that were sold outside of Europe had a 2.0 engine that produced 96 CV, although a version of this engine, assisted by a turbo and with 165 CV, gave life to the Pontiac Sunbird, Pontiac Gran Am SE and Buick Skyhawk, cars that had nothing to do with the Kadett.
Said engine was an Opel development. Which was manufactured by General Motors in Brazil, where the Chevrolet Kadett also came from, the version of the German model for Mercosur and other South American countries. It was presented in Brazil in 1989, being a quite innovative car in those markets and it was the first Chevrolet with an on-board computer and check control.
As a curiosity, in Brazil there was also a Chevrolet Kadett GSi, but it was not, by far, the same as the European one. The Brazilian GSi also had a 2.0 atmospheric four-cylinder engine, but instead of offering the 150 CV that the 2.0 16 valves came to yield, it was satisfied with 121 CV. The convertible body, designed and manufactured by Bertone, was also offered in Mercosur.
With the exception of some countries such as Uzbekistan, production ended in the early 90s. Production of the Opel Kadett E stopped in 1991 (also that of the Vauxhall Astra II), while in South America it lasted until 1994. In South Korea, if we count the Daewoo Nexia, it was manufactured until 2003, when it left the market for the Daewoo Lanos to take its place.
