A brief history of Vauxhall Motors
Vauxhall Motors has come a long way in the hundred or so years since its foundation, but the bulk of that journey has been under the direction of its parent General Motors. Nevertheless, Vauxhall's commitment to the UK has been unstinting, and its long-running attempts to trump the dominant player in this country - Ford - look like they're finally coming to fruition with the introduction of bold new Astra and Corsa models. What follows is a brief history of the British brand: its origins, ownership, key personalities and role in the country it continues to call home. Evolution of the Vauxhall brand
Unusually for a car firm, Vauxhall owes its name and logo to a character from 13th century history, Fulk le Breant. Fulk was a mercenary soldier in the employ of the English King John, and was rewarded for his successes on the battlefield and as a suitor with two pieces of property: first the Manor of Luton; and second ‘Fulks Hall', as his estate in London came to be known.
Over the years, Fulks Hall became "Foxhall", then "Vaux Hall", then finally "Vauxhall" - which was the name in use when an engineer named Alexander Wilson set up shop there in 1857, producing a wide range of parts for ships and steam engines. In 1903, The ‘Vauxhall Ironworks' produced its first car; and by 1905, the need to expand production heralded a move for the firm to Luton, of all places - Fulk le Breant's second home, and Vauxhall's base of operations to this day. Like the company name, Vauxhall's logo (which depicts a red griffin holding a flag with the letter ‘V') was also borrowed from Fulk le Breant, who wore the same symbol as his coat of arms. Relationship with GM/Opel
American car giant General Motors (currently the world's second largest car company) bought-out Vauxhall in 1925, and acquired a second European manufacturer, Opel, in 1929. Today, GM's right hand drive (i.e. British) cars are sold in Europe with a Vauxhall badge, and its left hand drive (i.e. everywhere else, including Ireland) versions are badged as Opels.
Nowadays, there's nothing to distinguish the two firms' cars besides the badges and RHD/LHD differences, and model names have been standardised - so the current Opel Astra looks and drives the same as the Vauxhall version. This level of uniformity has only been in place since the 1990s, however (before 1991, the Astra was still being sold across the channel as the ‘Opel Kadett'). Confusingly enough, GM allowed Opel and Vauxhall to trade against one another in the UK during the 70s and 80s - despite the fact that most of their products differed in nothing but name at that time. Vauxhall has not made any models independently of Opel since the Viva, which was withdrawn from production in 1979. Personalities: Wayne Cherry
One of the main architects between the merging of Vauxhall and Opel model types was American-born designer Wayne Cherry. Though relatively little-known in the industry, Cherry is responsible for the design of practically every Vauxhall produced since the 1970s, and his skills are arguably comparable to those of Bertone and the other great Italian styling houses.
Cherry started out at GM in 1962, but in '65 he transferred to Vauxhall. By 1971 he had worked his way up to Assistant Director of Design, and his influence - bold and dramatic ‘swooping' lines of a kind not seen outside America - could be felt in practically every car to come off the Luton production lines. He was behind the iconic Vauxhall Firenza, the first mass-produced British car to take advantage of aerodynamics. Elements of its design (particularly the distinctive ‘droopsnoot' nose section) were then ported to practically every car in the Vauxhall range, instantly solving the problem of the brand's until then rather ‘dowdy' image. Then in 1983, Cherry was moved over to Opel as Director of Design, and oversaw the consolidation of the two European marques' model ranges. Up until his retirement in 2004, he would supervise the development of such modern cars as the Astra, Corsa, Calibra and Tigra. Vauxhall as a British car maker
Despite its waning autonomy, Vauxhall continues to design and build cars at its Ellesmere Port factory in Cheshire (passenger car production ceased at the Luton plant in 2000, though Vauxhall's administrative centre remains there). Around 190,000 vehicles were made at Ellesmere in 2005, the efforts of some 3,000 staff - though proposed job cuts could lead to a drop in this figure.
Vauxhall is a major contributor to charities and community groups based near its facilities in Bedfordshire and Cheshire, awarding funding through the so-called ‘Griffin Grants' scheme. In total, the firm has contributed about £4.5 million to local charities over the past ten years. Car insurance for your Vauxhall
Hoot Car Insurance Services is a sure bet for Vauxhall owners, because our policies are tailored specifically to your brand of car. And as an online car insurance firm, we offer one of the most competitive rates in the UK marketplace.
Hoot avoids the costly advertising budgets of many rival motor insurance brands, and because we're on the internet rather than the high street, we benefit from much cheaper office rentals, too. All that, plus the fact that we specialise in Vauxhall policies, adds up to terrifically cheap quotes for you. So if you're looking for Vauxhall car insurance at a great price, you really owe it to yourself to click below. 
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