Cars We Remember / Collector Car Corner; Revisiting the ill-fated Chevy Cadet

By Greg Zyla —

Q: Greg, I never knew anything about the Ford concept car you recently wrote about called the Allegra/Allegro. This Ford then became known as the Mustang concept. In your column, you mention the Corvair and the Chevy Cadet. I know of the Corvair, but I have never heard of the Cadet, so I’m wondering if you could give more info on that concept Chevy Cadet? I enjoy your columns on auto nostalgia very much. Edward L., retired and living near Lancaster, Pa.

A: Edward, I received several inquiries about the Chevy Cadet, so I’m happy to oblige. The Chevy Cadet is quite the story, especially considering the person who designed the car is the same person who invented the “strut” suspension that is still used today in tens of millions of cars.

Specifically, the Chevrolet Cadet was designed by none other than Earle S. MacPherson, known worldwide as the inventor of the MacPherson strut suspension. Born in Highland Park, Illinois, in 1891, MacPherson served in WWI, where he earned the rank of Captain.

Before his stint at GM, he worked for the Chalmers Motor Company and Liberty Motor Car Company in the early 1920s prior to joining Hupmobile in 1923. In 1934, he joined General Motors, becoming chief design engineer for Chevrolet in 1935.

In charge of small car development at GM, MacPherson designed a fully independent, four-wheel “MacPherson Strut” suspension for the Cadet that is still utilized today as a standard of suspension excellence. Every time you hear or see the words “MacPherson strut suspension,” that’s Earle S. MacPherson, the same guy who designed the ill-fated Chevrolet Cadet.

MacPherson’s Cadet was to be Chevy’s all-new compact class car, much like the Henry J was to the Kaiser line of automobiles. Most important is that MacPherson’s effort took place in 1945, when the car and truck manufacturers all got the green light to restart production of cars and trucks for everyday consumers. In prior years, all U.S. car and truck manufacturers followed the 1942 WWII government mandate to stop regular highway vehicle production and concentrate on war vehicles, including air, water, and land.

With the war coming to an end in ‘45 and the troops coming home, MacPherson knew America was ready for all-new cars. Further, considering that automobile production in 1941 totaled a record 3.5-million vehicles sold, it was clear from a production standpoint that all new cars would be gobbled up by happy post-WWII American individuals and families (Yes, the start of the baby boomer generation.)

However, completely retooling from, for example, a tank platform back to car production was no easy or quick task. In reality, it took car manufacturers several years to release all-new cars; yet surprisingly, by 1949 the 1941 sales record was broken as new cars were showing up in droves at the dealers and selling quickly.

Thus, and to regress a bit, in late 1946 Chevy was fully ready to mass produce the new Chevy Cadet, not to ever be confused with the Opel Kadett. MacPherson’s compact car would ride on a 108-inch wheelbase, weigh just 2200-lbs. and seat four adults comfortably. Under the hood sat a 133 cubic-inch inline-6 cylinder that developed 65-horses and hooked to a 3-speed manual transmission. The Cadet would utilize small 12-inch tires, necessary for good steering response and allowing the use of fender skirts front and rear on the nicely styled car.

Novel was the original MacPherson coil spring over shock absorber strut that sat in a tower (lust like today’s) and the fact that the 3-speed manual transmission sat under the front seat and utilized two driveshaft torque tubes to send the power from the engine to the transmission, and then again to the rear end gears. (See original diagram layout attached.)

With an expected retail of $1,000, returning veterans and families were prime prospective consumers, they being the same demographic that bought hundreds of homes at the soon to come Levittown style village housing booms in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It was clear they could easily park a new Cadet in their driveway, but trouble was brewing at GM headquarters.

In early 1947, with everything ready to go, corporate heads at GM decided to cancel the Cadet due to what they called too much of an initial investment and worrying that the Cadet would not meet the $1,000 retail price expectation. Three prototypes were built utilizing the four-wheel strut suspension. A fourth Cadet was built with a solid rear axle, against MacPherson’s wishes. It was just one of the many internal disagreements that resulted in the car not coming to market.

Unhappy with the decision to cancel the Cadet, MacPherson left GM in September of 1947 and immediately accepted a position with Ford. By 1952, he was Ford’s chief engineer, a position he retained until his retirement in May of 1958. MacPherson passed away in his sleep in 1960 at age 69, missing the Ford concept Allegro, also known as Allegra. 

To this day, many feel the Chevy Cadet would have been a tremendous success, especially with its novel advanced suspension system, roomy interior, low price, and overall great handling. 

Earle MacPherson left a major legacy in automotive engineering and thanks to him, the world of automobiles is all the better for it.

Thanks for your kind words, Edward.

(Greg Zyla is a syndicated automotive columnist who welcomes reader questions and interaction on collector cars, auto nostalgia, and motorsports at greg@gregzyla.com or at 303 Roosevelt St., Sayre, Pa. 18840.)