Combat Vauxhall Car Depreciation with RTI and VRI and Finance Shortfall Gap Insurance

GAP Insurance Protects Vauxhall New Car Buyers Against Car Depreciation

Vauxhall Automotive - The Vauxhall Company was first founded to produce marine engines in 1857. It was founded by Alexander Wilson and was called the Vauxhall Iron Works and they built marine engines and pumps. They produced their first automobile in 1903. It was a 5hp model that was steered using a tiller and had only two gears and no reverse. This first design led to a better version that was made available for sale to the public.

In 1905 the company moved to Luton so it could expand its production. In 1907 the company changed its name to Vauxhall Motors Ltd and was known for its sporting models. After World War I their vehicles became more austere.

In 1925 Vauxhall was bought by the American carmaker, General Motors. The influence of its parent company led to a surge of American influenced designs in the European markets until the 1980's. Bedford Vehicles was a subsidiary established in 1930 that manufactured commercial vehicles.

Car production was halted during World War II. The Vauxhall Company made the Churchill tank during the war and there were over 5,600 Churchill tanks during that time. Car production started again after the war ended. The models were designed to be more of a mass market vehicle. This led to expansion and a manufacturing plant was built in Ellesmere Port in 1960.
The company had a reputation for making cars which rusted easily; in retrospect most of the manufacturers at the time had the same problem. This led to better corrosion protection; however, the bad reputation stayed with the company until the 1980's.

From the 1970's most models of vehicles were designed and built through a partnership with Opel in Germany. This meant that the Chevette, Cavalier and Carlton were actually restyled versions of Opel models. The new version had a unique sloping front end. It was nicknamed the "droopsnoot" and was first seen on the HPF Firenza. The Viceroy model was a simply rebadged of Opel's Commodore and the Royale was a rebadged of the Opel Senator.

This was the beginning of the Opel name taking over at Vauxhall. In 1979 General Motors policy was that future models of Vauxhall were to be rebadged Opels. The vehicles were designed and created with little input from Vauxhall. During the late 70's and early 80's GM dealers in the UK and the Republic of Ireland were selling Opel and Vauxhall models side by side that were exactly identical.

1981 was the beginning of Opel dealerships in the UK being closed down. The last Opel to be officially sold in Britain was the Manta Coupe in 1988. On the other hand the Vauxhall brand was dropped by GM in Ireland in favour of the Opel in 1982. In the early 90's, GM Europe began to standardize the model names across both brands. For example, The Vauxhall Cavalier and the Opel Vectra were both called Vectra. The only exception to this was the VX220 which was sold by Opel as the Speedster.

Starting in 1994 Vauxhall models had a distinctive grille that set them apart from Opels. The grille features a "V" that distinguishes the vehicle as a Vauxhall. The V badge represents the fluted V shaped bonnets that have been used in some form on all Vauxhall cars since it produced the very first one.

The Luton plant closed in 2000; however, production is still going on at the plant in Ellesmere Port. Many cars that are badged as Opels are being produced by Vauxhall for export. In 2009, General Motors in the United States went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company put the Opel/Vauxhall brand up for sale. They were close to a deal with a Canadian company that had backing from Germany, however, at the last minute GM decided to hang on to the brand instead.

Today Vauxhall offers a variety of vehicles to suit your needs. The Agila is a small stylish vehicle that can seat 5 comfortably and has flexible luggage space. There is a choice of new petrol and diesel engines and also has innovative safety features. The Corsa has a three door hatchback or a 5 door hatchback to choose from. It is stylish and compact with many innovative features.

The Meriva is a compact MPV that is stylish and designed to fit an active family's lifestyle. The New Astra has a bold new shape with high performance and innovative technology. The Insignia is a new addition to the Vauxhall range. It is totally new with a choice of 4 door saloon, 5 door hatchback and Sports Tourer styles with innovative technology throughout. The VXR8 range is Vauxhall's high performance road vehicle. It is engineered with enhanced performance and power from a mighty V8 engine.

Vauxhall is always developing innovative technology. Adaptive forward lighting has sensors that that change their pattern to suit the conditions and the weather. The FlexRide is adaptive stability technology system that responds instantly to data collected from all parts of the vehicle. The ecoFLEX models provide the lowest fuel consumption and also have lower CO2 emissions using a combination of innovative technology.

Vauxhall is much more than an car manufacturer. They are a leading innovator and a part of the UK's driving heritage.

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