With so much heritage, 112 years of history and one of the most iconic car models, Vauxhall can be honestly called one of the most popular companies, selling thousands of cars every year directly from the showrooms and on the used car market. Many people opt exactly for this car brand because it is known for the reliable, easy to run, cost-efficient and simple models. Founded in 1857 and at first, having the name Alex Wilkinson and Company after its creator, Vauxhall becomes one of the today’s most recognisable names in motors industry 40 years later.
The first decades the company was a pump and marine engine manufacturer to then moved to the petrol engine production in 1894. 1903 is the year when Vauxhall Iron Works manufactured its first car – the 6HP. Two years later, in 1905 Laurence Pomeroy joined the company to work for it for 14 years. Pomeroy is known for being a young engineering genius for his time, a creator of the innovative four-cylinder monobloc engine that was an important step in the Vauxhall’s history and the car engine’s history in general. In 1910, the Vauxhall C-type, later being popular as “Prince Henry”, featured a distinctive pointed radiator that brings to the car model the fame of one of the most popular Vauxhall cars ever and also the first sports car from a British manufacturer in the world.
Another emblematic Vauxhall model came out 3 years later, the Vauxhall 30-98 that is known for being one of the best sports cars of the 20th century. The success of the company is great by the time, so when in 1925 General Motors offer to buy Vauxhall, the brand is sold for $2.5 million. It takes more than a decade for General Motors to release a new Vauxhall motor, but the waiting is worth it, because in 1938 the new Vauxhall Ten-Four is on the market, offering innovative systems like torsion bar independent suspension and hydraulic brakes. After the Second World War, Vauxhall starts to produce the large family Victor cars for 21 years, which become Britain’s most exported cars for all times.
The small family Vauxhall Viva was introduced on the market in 1963, followed by the Vauxhall HC Viva in 1970 that became a bestseller in the 70s and appeared in Britain’s 10 best-selling cars rating for almost a decade. In 1967 Vauxhall became a Royal Warrant Holder as a Motor Vehicle Manufacturer. The warrant was extended in 1994. 1975 is the start of very exciting series for Vauxhall when one of the most emblematic cars of the company are released in a short period – Cavalier, the fifth most popular car ever in Britain, Chevette, a successful supermini and motorsport winner and Astra, one of the world’s 30 car bestsellers in all times. This amazing development brings the first European Car of the Year award for Vauxhall Astra Mk 2 in 1985, then followed by 4 more awards in 1987, 2009 and 2010.