After General Motors acquired Germany's Opel brand around 1930, it took several years before Opel styling got an American appearance. As I noted
here in reference to Opel Admirals, GM sent a small group of stylists to Germany with the mission of establishing a styling studio following GM's Detroit practice. I mentioned that the first result was the 1939 Open Kapitän.
Actually, that car was the first complete design, But the team's influence was seen earlier in the 1937-vintage facelifts of Opel's
Kadett and
Olympia models. Those cars were new to Opel's line in 1935-36, and featured a form of monocoque construction, a first for Opel. The bodies were essentially the same, with the Olympia having a wheelbase 33 mm (1.3 inches) longer than the Kadett. Visually, the main differences were in the grille and hood ventilation detailing.
The 1937 GM-inspired facelifts largely took the form of bold, American-style grilles, as can be seen below.
Gallery
Two factory photos of the 1936 Opel Kadett.
Auction photos of a 1936 Opel Olympia (the name inspired by the 1936 Berlin Olympic games). The Olympia lacks the Kadett's strong vertical grille bar. Hood side-venting differs. There are minor sheet metal and trim differences in the C-pillar belt line area. The wheels also differ. But overall, the designs are almost entirely the same. Now for the facelifts ...
1938 vintage Opel Kadett 4-door Limousine.
A 1938 Chevrolet Master DeLuxe sedan, Barrett-Jackson auction photo. Note the similarities of the grille bars: GM's new German-based stylists had a strong sense of the design directions of the corporation's American brands when they left Detroit and must have exchanged styling information while they were in Rüsselsheim.
1938 Opel Olympia, image source unknown to me, but plentiful on the Web. Its grille is slightly larger and bolder than the Kadett's. Hood side vent ornamentation differs as does bits of sheet metal at the base of the C-pillar.
This Kadett image can be found here and there on the Internet. It differs from late '30s Kadetts and Olympias in that the trunk is smoothly integrated with the rest of the lower body. Also, the fenders have been reshaped. There was never a production version of this, so my best guess is that it was a styling proposal, perhaps intended for production in 1942 or thereabouts. Inform in comments if more about this car is known.
2 comments:
As a kid in the US I noticed how Americanish British and German Fords and GM cars were and always wondered how that worked. Did stylists get sent from the US to there or trade back and forth, or did Euro stylists study their US counterpart's designs or go to workshops here, or was it all done from here, or what? I never read any article in any car magazine about this. Of course now I know about Australian versions as well, same deal.
For example a mid-60's Ford Taunus is obviously a Ford inside and out. https://www.traeume-wagen.de/voll-vernuenftig/3/
This post sheds a little light on the story.
In the late 1930s, the Opel Olympia and Kadett were two of the most popular cars in Europe. But with the outbreak of World War II, production of these vehicles halted. After the war, Opel resumed production of the Olympia and Kadett, but gave them a facelift to reflect the changing times. The new models featured updated styling and mechanics, making them some of the most reliable and affordable cars on the market. Today, Opel is still known for producing dependable and practical vehicles, and their repair garages are among the best in the business. If you're looking for an Opel service or repair garage, look no further than your local dealership or authorized service center.
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