Author: Dominic Donaldson
Title: A Brief History Of Vauxhall Dealerships
Article: The great automobile company that is Vauxhall must be one of the greatest brands to come out of Britain. A subsidiary of General Motors Corporation (GM), Vauxhall Dealerships have a long running history that has helped create the global brand we know and love today.
The Vauxhall company was first founded over 150 years ago back in 1857, by Alexander Wilson. Like many companies, it was originally named after its founder, Alex Wilson and Company however this quickly turned in to Vauxhall Iron Works. The main purpose of this business was to build marine engines and pumps. However in 1903, 46 years after the company first began, the first car was built and the nature of the business changed forever.
The first model was a five-horsepower model, controlled using a tiller. Drivers were unable to reverse and only had two forward gears. It didn’t take long for the business to grow and Vauxhall Iron Works needed larger premises to work from, so relocated production to Luton in 1905. Vauxhall Iron Works continued to trade under its original name for another two years until the name was finally changed to Vauxhall Motors.
The style of the Vauxhall cars started out as sporty models however after world war one ended in 1918, the designs changed quite substantially. By 1925, General Motors brought Vauxhall for a cool 2.5 million GBP. Under their American influence, and together with pressure from their biggest competitor Ford Motor Company, Vauxhall began moving away from their trademark designs. However under the crippling effects of World War Two, car production was suspended temporarily as Vauxhall began turning their efforts to producing tanks. Once the war ended in 1945, car production naturally resumed.
Factories were now churning out mass-market productions and the company began to expand, building a new manufacturing plant at Ellesmere Port in 1960. As their production increased, so too did their reputation and the number of Vauxhall Dealerships.
By the late 1960s, the company was achieving five-figure sales on its most popular models including the Viva and the Vector models. This success continued on through to the 1970′s when Vauxhall’s larger model, the Victor faced some fierce competition from other dominant models such as the Ford Cortina. The smaller version, the Viva however continued to be one of the most popular cars in Britain. To keep consumers content, the model was revised in 1970 and while its popularity continued, the fierce competition of the automotive industry remained true to its name and the Viva fell behind other market leaders from Ford and Chrysler UK.
As a backlash, Vauxhall Dealerships launched two new models in 1975 including the Chevette, a small three door hatchback and the Cavalier, a larger four door saloon. Both models were a huge success and by the end of the 1970′s, Vauxhall were well on their way to closing the competitive gap between themselves, Ford and British Leyland.
Vauxhall dealerships soon began flaunting their new family size cars. The Astra replaced the Viva and its success became apparent as sales boomed. However it was the 1981 MK2 Cavalier that really tipped the scale for Vauxhall. The Cavalier was the first of the Vauxhall brand to offer front-wheel drive and a hatchback body style.
The success of the Nova supermini in 1983 meant Vauxhall dealerships around the country were soon celebrating its success as Britain’s second most popular carmaker.
With a re-launch of the Cavalier in 1988, the new MK3 design further strengthened Vauxhalls growing reputation and was praised for its sleek style. Refusing to be complacent in their success, Vauxhall continued to strengthen its brand. The popular Carlton was relaunched in 1986 and won the status of European Car of the Year.
The Calibra coupe followed in 1989, which was officially the most aerodynamic production car in the world on its launch. With this new generation of Vauxhall models, old preconceptions of rusting Vauxhall cars were completely dismissed and became a myth of the past.
By the 1990′s, the Cavalier was established as Britain’s most popular family car, selling over 130,000 vehicles. The ten year old Nova was replaced for the all-new Vauxhall Corsa and with its stylish, compatible style, began attracting great attention.
As Vauxhall moved into the 21st century sales of the Corsa rocketed, notably in 2002 when it was voted 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 second generation Corsa had been Britain’s most popular supermini for most of its production life.
The fifth generation Astra, launched in early 2004 was an instant hit with British buyers and was the nation’s second bestselling car in 2005 and 2006, giving the all-conquering Ford Focus its strongest competitor yet.
Today, Vauxhall dealerships are continuing to proudly toot their horns as the Vauxhall Insignia was voted Car of the Year 2009. With such expertise spanning over one hundred years, Vauxhall have style narrowed down to a fine art and a car suitable for all tastes. Dominic Donaldson is an expert in the car industry.
Find out more about vauxhall dealerships and take a look at the brief history of what has made them the brand they are today.
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