Vauxhall Motors
Vauxhall Motors is a
British car company, (see
below). It is a subsidiary of
General Motors. With Opel, Vauxhall forms GM's core European business.
Alexander Wilson founded the company in
Vauxhall,
London in 1857. Originally named Alex Wilson and Company, subsequently the Vauxhall Iron Works, it built pumps and marine engines. In 1903 the company built its first car, a 5 hp (4 kW) model steered using a tiller, with only two forward gears and no reverse. This led to a better design which was made available for sale.
To expand its production the company moved to
Luton in 1905. The company continued to trade under the name Vauxhall Iron Works until 1907, when the modern name of Vauxhall Motors Ltd. was adopted. The company was characterised by its sporting models, but after the
First World War, designed more austere models.
GM purchase
In 1925 Vauxhall was bought by GM for 2.5 million US dollars. The influence of the American parent was pervasive and together with
Ford, Vauxhall's main competitor, led to a wave of American influenced styling in Europe that persisted through to the 1980s.
Bedford Vehicles, a subsidiary constructing commercial vehicles, was established in 1930 as the
Stock Market Crash of 1929 had made importing American
lorries uneconomical.
During
World War II car production was suspended to allow Vauxhall to work on the
Churchill tank, which was designed at
Luton in less than a year, and assembled there (as well as at other sites). Over 5,600 Churchill tanks were built.
After the war car production resumed but models were designed as a more mass-market product leading to expansion of the company. A manufacturing plant at
Ellesmere Port was built in 1960. During the 1960s Vauxhall acquired a reputation for making rust-prone models, though in this respect most manufacturers were equally bad. The corrosion protection built into models was tightened up significantly, but the reputation dogged the company until the early 1980s.
Opel relationship
Its compact car, the
Viva, formed the basis of the first
Holden Torana in Australia in the 1960s. From the
1970s, most models were designed and built in partnership with
Opel in
Germany. The
Chevette,
Cavalier and
Carlton were basically restyled versions of the
Kadett,
Ascona and
Rekord, featuring a distinctive sloping front end, nicknamed the "droopsnoot", first prototyped on the HPF
Firenza. The Viceroy and Royale were simply
rebadged versions of Opel's
Commodore and
Senator, imported from Germany.
This was the starting point for the "Opelisation" of Vauxhall. With the 1979 demise of the
Viva, GM policy was for future Vauxhall models to be, in effect, rebadged Opels, designed and developed in
Rüsselsheim, with little engineering input from Luton. In the late '70s and early '80s, GM dealers in the
UK and the
Republic of Ireland sold otherwise identical Opel and Vauxhall models alongside each other. This policy of duplication was phased out, beginning with the demise of Opel dealerships in the UK in 1981. The last Opel car (the Manta coupe) to be "officially" sold in Britain was withdrawn in 1988.
Similarly, the Vauxhall brand was dropped by GM in
Ireland in favour of Opel in 1982, with other
right hand drive markets like
Malta and
Cyprus soon following suit. (In
New Zealand, the brand was withdrawn after the demise of the Chevette). Many new Opel-badged cars have been privately imported into the UK from Ireland, and other
EU countries, while many Vauxhalls have been
imported second hand into the Republic.
GM Europe then began to standardise model names across both brands in the early 1990sâ€"the Vauxhall Astra and Opel Kadett for example were both called Astra from 1991 onwards; the Vauxhall Cavalier and Opel Vectra were both called Vectra from 1995 etc. With the exception of the VX220, sold by Opel as the Speedster, all of Vauxhall's models now have the same names as those of Opel.
Since 1994, Vauxhall models differ from Opels in their distinctive grille featuring a "V", incorporating the Vauxhall badge. This has also been used by
Holden in
New Zealand, and on the
Indian version of the Opel Astra. The "V" badging is an echo of the fluted V-shaped bonnets that have been used in some form on all Vauxhall cars since the very first.
A model unique to the Vauxhall range is the high performance Monaro coupe, which is sourced from
Holden in
Australia. Although this model is also produced in
left hand drive (LHD) for markets like the
U.S. (known as the
Pontiac GTO) and the
Middle East (known as the
Chevrolet Lumina), the model is not currently offered by Opel in Europe. Imports of this vehicle are limited to 15,000 to avoid additional safety testing.
Many cars badged as Opels, even LHD models, are produced by Vauxhall for export. Vauxhall has built some Holdens for export, too, notably Vectra As to New Zealand and Astra Bs to both Australia and New Zealand.
Closures and restructuring
The Luton plant closed in 2000, but production still continues at the plant in
Ellesmere Port.
On 17 May 2006 Vauxhall announced the loss of 900 jobs from Ellesmere Port's 3,000 staff. Despite already meeting efficiency targets Vauxhall has been told to further improve productivity. Vauxhall's troubled parent GM is cutting 30,000 jobs in the United States. [
1]
The
griffin emblem, which is still in use, is derived from the
coat of arms of
Fulk le Breant, a
mercenary soldier who was granted the Manor of Luton for services to
King John in the thirteenth century. By marriage, he also gained the rights to an area near
London, south of the
Thames. The house he built, Fulk's Hall, became known in time as Vauxhall. Vauxhall Iron Works adopted this emblem from the coat of arms to emphasise its links to the local area. When Vauxhall Iron Works moved to Luton in 1905, the griffin emblem coincidentally returned to its ancestral home.
 | 1949 Vauxhall Wyvern (L series) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cars
*
10-4 (1937â€"1947)
*
12-4 (1937â€"1946)
*
14-6 (1939â€"1948)
*
14 and 14/40 (1922â€"1927)
*
20/60 (1927â€"1930)
*
23/60 (1922â€"1926)
*
25 (1937â€"1940)
*
25/70 (1926â€"1928)
*
30/98 E-type (1913â€"1922)
*
A-type (1911â€"1914)
*
B-type (1911â€"1914)
*
C-type "Prince Henry" (1911â€"1913)
*
D-type (1912â€"1922)
*
Agila (2000-present)
*
Albany*
Astra (1979-present)
*
Belmont (1984-1991)
*
Cadet (1931-1933)
*
Calibra (1989-1997)
*
Carlton (1978â€"1994)
*
Cavalier (1976â€"1994)
*
Chevette (1975â€"1983)
*
Combo*
Corsa (1993-present)
*
Cresta (1954â€"1972)
*
Envoy*
Epic*
Equus (1978 concept)
*
Firenza (1970â€"1975)
*
Frontera (1991â€"2004, rebadged
Isuzu MU Wizard)
*
Magnum (1973-1978)
*
Manta (1970-1987, was also sold as an Opel)
*
Monaro (2001â€"present)
*
Monterey (1994â€"1999, rebadged Isuzu truck)
*
Meriva (2002-present)
*
Nova (1983-1993)
*
Omega (1994-present)
*
Senator (1978-1994)
*
Signum (2004-present)
*
Silver Aero (1983 concept)
*
Silver Bullet (1976 concept)
*
Six (1933â€"1938)
*
SRV (1970 concept)
*
T and T80 (1930â€"1932)
*
Tigra (1994-present)
*
Vectra (1995-present)
*
Velox (1948â€"1957)
*
Ventora (1968â€"1972)
*
Victor (1957â€"1972)
*
Viscount (1966â€"1972)
*
Viva (1963â€"1979)
*
VX220 (2001-2005)
*
VX4/90 (1961â€"1972)
*
VX Lightning (concept)
*
Wyvern (1948â€"1957)
*
Zafira (1999-present)
Vans
*
Bedford Beagle (1964â€"1973)
*
Bedford Rascal (1986â€"1993, rebadged Suzuki Supercarry)
*
Bedford CF Van *
Bedford Midi*
Bedford Dormobile*
Movano (1999-present)
*
Vivaro (2001-present)
*
Holden *
Opel *
General Motors *
Wayne Cherry - Vauxhall's (and later GM's) head of design, responsible for most Vauxhall/Opel designs since 1970.
*
Gerry Marshall (racing driver strongly associated with the marque)
*
Slant Four (type of engine made by Vauxhall)
*
Vauxhall Motors F.C.*
Vauxhall Heritage *
Vauxhall Motors UK Website * http://dmoz.org/Recreation/Autos/Makes_and_Models/Vauxhall/
