Vauxhall Motors

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{{Infobox Company| company_name = Vauxhall Motors Limited| company_logo = | company_type = Private (subsidiary of General Motors since 1925)], England, United Kingdom)| industry = [Automobile| products = Automobile3,785 million (2004) | operating_income = £131 million (2004)| net_income = £-176 million (2004) | num_employees =5,047 (2004)| parent = [General Motors Corporation| subsid =| homepage = www.vauxhall.co.uk| footnotes =--> For information about the football team see Vauxhall Motors F.C.

Vauxhall Motors is a UK car company. It is a subsidiary of General Motors Corporation. Most current Vauxhall models are right-hand drive derivatives of GM's Opel brand with several performance vehicles coming from Holden/Holden Special Vehicles in Australia and Lotus Cars of Norfolk, England (owned by Malaysia's Proton (company)).

History Alexander Wilson founded the company in Vauxhall, London in 1857. Originally named Alex Wilson and Company, then Vauxhall Iron Works, the company built pumps and marine engines. In 1903, the company built its first car, a five-horsepower model steered using a tiller, with two forward gears and no reverse gear. This led to a better design which was made available for sale.

To expand its production, the company moved the majority of its production to Luton in 1905. The company continued to trade under the name Vauxhall Iron Works until 1907, when the modern name of Vauxhall Motors was adapted. The company was characterised by its sporting models, but after World War I, designed more austere models.

GM purchase In 1925, Vauxhall was bought by GM for US$2.5 million. The influence of the American parent was pervasive and together with the Ford Motor Company, 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 Wall Street Crash 1929 had made importing American trucks 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.

Post World War II 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.

By the late 1960s, the company was achieving five-figure sales on its most popular models including the entry-level Vauxhall Viva and larger Vauxhall Victor.

The 1970s and 1980s Vauxhall's fortunes improved during the 1970s, with an updated version of the Viva continuing to sell in huge volumes.

By 1973, however, the Victor was losing sales in a market that was becoming increasingly dominated by the hugely popular Ford Cortina. The Viva was still among the most popular cars in Britain, as a facelift in 1970 had stopped the design from becoming too outdated. But this wasn't enough to stop Vauxhall from being well behind market leaders Ford Motor Company and British Leyland in the sales charts, and most of its range was even struggling to keep pace with Chrysler Europe (formerly the Rootes Group). Vauxhall's sales began to increase in 1975 with the launch of two important new models - the Vauxhall Chevette, a small three-door hatchback that was the first car of its kind to be built in Britain and the Vauxhall Cavalier, a stylish four-door saloon designed to compete head-to-head with the all-conquering Ford Cortina. By the end of the 1970s, Vauxhall had boosted its market share substantially and was fast closing in on Ford and Vauxhall.

At the end of 1979, Vauxhall moved into the modern family hatchback market with its Vauxhall Astra range that replaced the ageing Viva. The Astra quickly became popular with buyers, but the 1981 MK2 Cavalier - the first Vauxhall of this size to offer front-wheel drive and a hatchback bodystyle - was the car that really boosted Vauxhall's fortunes. The 1983 Vauxhall Nova supermini (replacement for the Chevette) completed Vauxhall's regeneration, and it soon overtook Austin Rover as Britain's second most popular carmaker. The Astra further strengthened its position in the market with an all-new 1984 model that featured an aerodynamic design reminiscent of Ford's larger Ford Sierra. By 1979, Vauxhall had increased its market share substantially, but was still some way behind Ford and British Leyland, even though it had overtaken Talbot (the successor organisation to Rootes Group and Chrysler Europe).

Vauxhall's most important model of the 1980s was the 1981 Vauxhall Cavalier, which made the transition from rear-wheel drive saloon to front-wheel drive hatchback (though there was still a saloon version available). For much of its life it was Britain's most popular large family car, vying with the Ford Sierra for top place. The Cavalier was relaunched in all-new format in 1988 which won praise for its sleek looks and much-improved resistance to rust.

Vauxhall refused to rest on its laurels after the turnaround of the early to mid 1980s, and before the decade was over there was more to come. The range-topping Vauxhall Carlton (Opel Omega elsewhere) was relaunched in 1986 and was voted European Car of the Year, and the Cavalier entered its third generation in 1988 with an all-new sleek design that further enhanced its popularity. The Vauxhall Calibra coupé followed in 1989, which was officially the most aerodynamic production car in the world on its launch. Most importantly, the latest generation of Vauxhall models had eradicated the image of rusting cars that had put potential buyers of the Vauxhall brand for so long.

By 1989, Vauxhall was on something like equal terms with the Rover Group as Britain's second most popular car brand behind Ford Motor Company.

1990s By 1993, things were still looking strong for Vauxhall. The Vauxhall Cavalier was firmly re-established as Britain's most popular large family car with more than 130,000 sales, while the third generation Vauxhall Astra (relaunched in 1991) with 100,000 sales was continuing to narrow the gap between itself and the best-selling Ford Escort. The decade-old Nova had been axed in 1993 in favour of the all-new Vauxhall Corsa; its distinctive styling and practical interior were attracting more sales than its predecessor had done.

It was around this time that Vauxhall was being heavily criticised in several high profile car surveys. In 1998, a Top Gear customer satisfaction survey condemned the Vauxhall Vectra as the least satisfying car to own in Britain. A year later, Vauxhall as a brand was slated as the least satisfying make of car by the same magazine's customer satisfaction survey. Its model range came in for heavy criticism for breakdowns, build quality problems and many other maladies which meant that quality did not reflect sales success. Despite this, Vauxhall was competing strongly in the sales charts and by 1999 was closer to Ford in terms of sales figures than it had been in years.

In 1995, the Cavalier nameplate was axed after 20 years and Vauxhall adopted the Vauxhall Vectra nameplate for its successor, completing a policy by General Motors which had seen all Vauxhall and Opel models identically badged. The Vectra received disappointing feedback from the motoring public and several well-known journalists, most notably Jeremy Clarkson. Yet it was still hugely popular, and for a while after the 1999 facelift it was actually more popular that Ford's highly-acclaimed Ford Mondeo. The Astra entered its fourth generation in 1998, and offered levels of build quality and handling that bettered all of its predecessors. The 1999 Astra-based Vauxhall Zafira compact MPV set new standards for practicality, and achieved sales volumes that were previously unimaginable for MPVs.

21st Century The first years of the 21st century saw Vauxhall further strengthen its position in the British market, and continue to narrow the gap with Ford. The Vauxhall Corsa was regenerated in 2000 and offered a better-handling, better-built and better-equipped package than ever before.

2002 was one of the best years ever for Vauxhall sales in the UK. The updated Opel Corsa (launched in 2000) was Britain's second most popular new car, and gave the marque top spot in the British supermini car sales charts for the very first time. The Astra was Britain's third best selling car that year, while the Vauxhall Vectra and the Vauxhall Zafira (a clever Compact MPV launched in 1999) lurked just outside the top ten with relatively strong sales.

The Vauxhall Vectra entered its second generation in 2002 and was further improved over earlier Vectras, but was still hardly a class-leader and now had to be content with lower sales due to a fall in popularity of D-sector cars; although a facelift in 2005 sparked a rise in sales.

Perhaps the most important Vauxhall product of the 2000s so far is the Vauxhall Astra, launched in early 2004 and praised by the motoring press for its dramatic styling which was a world of difference from the relatively bland previous Astra. It was an instant hit with British buyers and was the nation's second best selling car in 2005 and 2006, giving the all-conquering Ford Focus its strongest competitor yet. The second generation Vauxhall Vectra went on sale during 2002 but has not sold as strongly as its predecessor. Its successor is due in 2008 and will give Vauxhall a fresh new competitor in a sector which has shrunk considerably in Britain over the last few years.

The second generation Corsa had been Britain's most popular supermini for most of its production life, but by 2006 it had started to fall behind the best of its competitors, so an all-new model was launched. This Corsa was far better than either of the previous Corsas, and it was an instant hit with buyers.

In 2006, the second generation Zafira was Britain's 10th best selling car. It was the first time that an MPV had featured in the Top 10 best selling cars in Britain.

Opel/Holden relationship From the 1970s, most models were based on models made by Opel in Germany. The Vauxhall Chevette, Vauxhall Cavalier and Vauxhall Carlton were basically restyled versions of the Opel Kadett, Opel Ascona and Opel Rekord, featuring a distinctive sloping front end, nicknamed the "droopsnoot", first prototyped on the HPF Vauxhall Firenza. The Viceroy and Royale were simply badge engineering versions of Opel's Opel Commodore and Opel Senator, imported from Germany.

This was the starting point for the "Opelisation" of Vauxhall. With the 1979 demise of the Vauxhall 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 United Kingdom 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 Republic of 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 grey import second hand into the Republic.

GM Europe then began to standardise model names across both brands in the early 1990s. 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 Vauxhall Monaro coupe, which is sourced from and designed by Holden in Australia. Although this model is also produced in left hand drive (LHD) for markets like the United States (known as the Pontiac GTO) and the Middle East (known as the Chevrolet Lumina (Middle East, South Africa and Thailand)), the model is not currently offered by Opel in Europe. Imports of this vehicle are limited to 15,000 to avoid additional safety testing. A future vehicle that Opel has not confirmed but Vauxhall has is the Holden Commodore SSV and the HSV GTS. The SSV has a GM 6.0 L98 V8 and the HSV uses the high performance GM 6.0 LS2 V8. Both are on the new GM Zeta platform which will underpin many future full-size GM vehicles. Vauxhall confirmed the import of the HSV just after the reborn Opel GT roadster was announced as not being imported into the UK. Vauxhall claim the Vauxhall Commodore and HSV will replace the Monaro and be far more aggressively styled than the HSV and have several defining Vauxhall features.

The bodywork for the Holden Camira estate was used for the Vauxhall Cavalier estate in the UK (though not for the identical Opel Ascona in the rest of Europe), while Vauxhall's compact car, the Vauxhall Viva, formed the basis of the first Holden Torana in Australia in the 1960s.

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 Vauxhall announced that the Luton car plant would close in 2000, with the final vehicle being made in March 2003, but production still continues at the plant in Ellesmere Port. Manufacture of vans (sold under the Vauxhall, Opel and in some cases Renault) badges throughout Europe) continues at the IBC Vehicles plant in Luton.

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.

VXRacing See also: VXR

The VXR range is analogous to the OPC range made by Opel, the HSV range made by Holden and the SS range made by Latin America Chevrolet. The models include the Opel Corsa, Opel Astra, Opel Vectra, Opel Meriva, Opel Zafira, Vauxhall VX220 (no longer in production), and the Australian-built Holden Monaro (also no longer in production.) These vehicles are high performance machines and are idealy aimed for younger buyers. Vauxhall unveiled a new model based on the Australian Holden Maloo at the 2005 National Exhibition Centre motor show in Birmingham, England. It was claimed that the monstrous V8 Ute could do about 200mph which is incredibly fast for a utility vehicle. Sadly, the model never got to the showroom in the United Kingdom. The Monaro is also no longer made, but a new version (a four door saloon) is going to be on sale to replace it called the VXR8. The VXR8 is based on Australia's Holden HSV Clubsport R8. This car does 0-60 in 5 seconds, in similar territory to other muscle car contemporaries such as the Dodge Viper (SRT-10) and Corvette Z06. The VXR badge is a symbol of the combined technological resources of the global General Motors group and the recognised expertise of consultants Lotus Cars and the Triple Eight Racing Team.

Origins of the name and the logo 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 John of England 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.

The logo (as pictured) used to be square however now, it is circular.

Sponsorship Vauxhall sponsored the Football Conference, the highest non-league Football in England, from 1986 until 1998. It took over from Gola and remained in association with the league for 12 years before ending its backing and being replaced by Nationwide Building Society.

List of vehicles {| style=float:right|-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-| HPF|-||-||} Cars

Vauxhall 10-4 (1937–1947)
Vauxhall 12-4 (1937–1946)
Vauxhall 14-6 (1939–1948)
Vauxhall 14/40 (1922–1927)
Vauxhall 20/60 (1927–1930)
Vauxhall 23/60 (1922–1926)
Vauxhall 25 (1937–1940)
Vauxhall 25/70 (1926–1928)
Vauxhall 30/98 (1913–1922)
Vauxhall Prince Henry (1911–1914)
Vauxhall Prince Henry (1911–1914)
Vauxhall Prince Henry (1911–1913)
Vauxhall Prince Henry (1912–1922)
Opel Agila (2000-present)
Vauxhall Albany
Opel Astra (1979-present)
Vauxhall Belmont (1984-1991)
Vauxhall Cadet (1931-1933)
Opel Calibra (1989-1997)
Opel Omega (1978–1994)
Vauxhall Cavalier (1976–1994)
Vauxhall Chevette (1975–1983)
Opel Corsa (1993-present)
Vauxhall Cresta (1954–1972)
Vauxhall Envoy
Vauxhall Epic
Vauxhall Equus (1978 concept)
Vauxhall Firenza (1970–1975)
Vauxhall Frontera (1991–2004, rebadged Isuzu MU Wizard)
Vauxhall Magnum (1973-1978)
Opel Manta (1970-1987, was also sold as an Opel)
Holden Monaro (2001–present)
Vauxhall Monterey (1994–1999, rebadged Isuzu Trooper)
Opel Meriva (2002-present)
Vauxhall Nova (1983-1993)
Opel Omega (1994-2003)
Vauxhall Senator (1978-1986), rebadged Opel Senator
Vauxhall Senator (1978-1994)
Opel Signum (2004-present)
Vauxhall Silver Aero (1983 concept)
Vauxhall Silver Bullet (1976 concept)
Vauxhall Six (1933–1938)
Vauxhall SRV (1970 concept)
Vauxhall T80 (1930–1932)
Opel Tigra (1994-present)
Opel Vectra (1995-present)
Vauxhall Trixx (Not yet released)
Vauxhall Velox (1948–1957)
Vauxhall Ventora (1968–1972)
Vauxhall Viceroy (1978-1982), rebadged Opel Commodore
Vauxhall Victor (1957–1972)
Vauxhall Viscount (1966–1972)
Vauxhall Viva (1963–1979)
Vauxhall VX220 (2001-2005)
Vauxhall VX4/90 (1961–1972)
Vauxhall VX Lightning (concept)
Vauxhall Wyvern (1948–1957)
Opel Zafira (1999-present)
Vauxhall VXR8 (2007-present)

Vans

Bedford Beagle (1964–1973)
Bedford Astramax (1984-1992)
Bedford Rascal (1986–1993, rebadged Suzuki Supercarry)
Bedford CF Van
Bedford Midi
Bedford Dormobile
Vauxhall Sintra (1997-1999, rebadged Chevy Venture)
Vauxhall Arena (1997-2000, rebadged Renault Trafic)
Opel Combo (1999-present)
Vauxhall Movano (1999-present)
Opel Vivaro (2001-present)