1967 Opel Kadett B fastback from North America - Comments

NEVER had a problem with this little gem of a car in almost 8 years of hard driving..

This playful little car was bought well used-80,000 miles+... and never let me down even after driving it hard and wild sometimes just for the sheer fun of doing so. It handled sharply, rode well and gave me over 33+ mpg, usually surprising me with the amazing distances it would go on such small amount of fuel. I could make it from downtown L.A. to well past Malibu beach on about a gallon and a half of gas-- over 45 miles! It was my main surf transport during the 1970s-1980s. I swear the little 1100 cc engine gave me 35+ mpg. Wish I had the wonderful little car again!!!

I am with you! I had a 1967 Opel Kadett Rallye back in the early 70's with a 1.1 and a 4 speed. Great car until it was rear ended and totaled. Now, after owning many Opel GT's (still have 2) and a few Manta's (down to 1 of those- a 28,000 mile original 1975) we are about to embark on our next Opel adventure! We are buying a 1967 Opel Kadett Rallye (a California car in good solid shape) to add to our collection. It is a 1.1 L 4 speed which needs some TLC, but we can't wait to get it shipped here! 1967's are a little harder to find some parts for simply because fewer were made and imported than the 1968, 69 and 70 models (which were 2nd in import sales only to the VW Beetle in those years. Most mechanical parts are readily available because they are shared with the Opel GT and even some parts retailers (Auto Zone, Napa etc.) carry some common parts.

For an era where most American cars were getting 8 to 12 mpg, the little Opel showed its bloodlines were very much European, where fuel was always much more expensive than here, and they built cars that sipped gas rather than guzzled it. Reliability came standard with every Opel, and after driving the cars for almost 40 years, I wish all cars were built so well!

Anyone thinking of buying a good dependable car who does not mind doing a little searching to find parts for, will certainly love the German Opels.

My first car was a 1967 Opel 1.1L engine four-speed and I loved it. Drove it hard for over 100,000 miles. On a couple of occasions got 40 mpg (with a tailwind across the Nevada salt flats). It was a GREAT little car. If I had it now, I think I'd turn it into an EV. It was really well built and reliable.

I loved my 67 1/2 Opel Kadett. My dad picked it up for me in 1972 for $40. Someone had traded it in at the Buick Opel dealer where he was the Service Manager. Both front fenders were smashed and it smelled like a barnyard, but I fell in love with it. I disinfected the whole inside of the car to remove the smell, the front fenders replaced and the whole body repainted. The 1100cc engine ran perfectly until I blew it up one day. I had the engine rebuilt at the shop. I think it cost me about $240. I put 1974 Opel 4 spoke wheels on it with Firestone 500 radial tires. A white Opel side stripe and white wraparound door moldings finished the look. I remember checking the gas mileage on time and I got 42MPG. Top speed was 86 MPH according to the speedometer.

I owned the car for about 3 years and sold it to a co worker. I saw the car around town for about 8 years after that so someone got a lot of life out of it.

Since then I have owned a 72 Opel GT and a 74 Opel Manta. My 67 1/2 though was my favorite and I wish I could find another one.

Note: The 67 1/2 designation means that this was a mid year care that had some of the 1968 features including rear coil springs, a padded dash, and larger tailites with the backup lites incorporated. I don't believe their were a lot of these made, which makes me sad that I sold mine.

I was in college and my kind parents bought me a new 1967 Opel Kadett during the fall of 1966; fastback, bright red, looked a little like a Mustang. Cute, nice trunk. Absolutely the WORST car I have ever owned. Go find a yearly Consumer Reports consumer guide from about 1972 or 1973. You know, the one where, based on user feedback, cars get black/green circles (horrible), half-filled black circles (bad), open circles (average), half "hatched" filled circle (better than average), and full-hatched circle (much batter than average). You will not BELIEVE the number of black dots. Horrible - engine (valve jobs), electrical, exhaust, body integrity, etcetera- everything!. The car looked good and I liked driving it when it ran...Don't believe me, check the consumer Reports...

Yeah, the old Opel Kadettes were cute to look at but pretty bad, mechanically. They didn't really get close to reliable until about the time the Manta showed up, but just a few years after that, GM stopped importing the German cars to the US and tried to sell, instead, an Isuzu I-mark rebadged as an Opel.

Now Isuzu is gone from the US but the reviewer can find Opels available at their nearest Saturn dealer as the Saturn Astra.

For as long as Saturn is still around, anyway.