YOU'RE TELLING US
IN OUR LAST ISSUE, 'I LUV VAUXHALL' ASKED YOU TO TELL US ABOUT THE VAUXHALLS YOU'VE OWNED, AND WHAT THEY HAVE MEANT TO YOU. AN ASTONISHING NUMBER OF YOU WROTE TO US - AND ALL OF YOU SERIAL VAUXHALL OWNERS. THESE WERE JUST SOME OF YOUR THOUGHTS...
DAVID SHERWEN, WHITEHAVEN, CUMBRIA – 19 CARS IN FAMILY
28 years driving Vauxhalls and comparing my first with my present car is interesting. My Astra takes half the time to go from 0 to 60 as my Chevette yet uses 40 per cent less fuel, and has a build quality undreamed of in the ‘70s. One thing remains common to all my Vauxhalls, though, they’ve all been fun to drive and have given me immense pleasure, reliability and value for money over the years.
ASH MOZAFFARI, EASTBOURNE, EAST SUSSEX – COUNTLESS CORSAS!
Most of my teenage years were spent in Germany; the first car I was smitten by was my mum’s Opel Manta. Over the years, she went on to Senator, Omega, Frontera and Calibra.
In 1993 I became a driving instructor with BSM and went through countless Corsas. I got my wife through the test and for her first car bought a 1.4 Corsa! She now drives an Astra GTC with Panoramic windscreen. In 2006 I went solo! For my own first driving school car I chose an Astra CDTi. Earlier this year I decided to drive a taxi as well…so I also bought a Vectra CDTi Estate, bringing us up to three Vauxhalls. I’m already dreaming of my next one, the Vectra VXR. For me, V stands for Value – you get so much car for your money. I just can’t imagine myself in any other make of car.
NICHOLAS WALKER, STRATFORD–UPON–AVON – SIX CARS
I have stayed loyal to Vauxhall for years, and loved every one of them…And I’ve followed Vauxhall in the BTCC for more years than I care to remember! From the Cleland/Cavalier years…through the successes with the Astra, right up–to–date; we try to visit as many circuits as possible. This year we’ve visited Brands, Rockingham, Croft, Donington, and hope to do Thruxton. Previous visits include Silverstone, Snetterton and Oulton. Knockhill’s a bit far away though!
JOAN & PAUL JACKSON, CONISBOROUGH, SOUTH YORKSHIRE – 20 CARS
In all, between us, we have purchased 20 Vauxhall cars, all from new apart from the Cavalier and Victor…We have always used GM Points as a good incentive to purchase Vauxhalls. We have found all our vehicles to be excellent value for money, economical, smooth driving, and more recently, good for ‘gadgets’…when our daughter married, she converted her husband and his parents to Vauxhall!
MRS J WOOD, CLITHEROE, LANCASHIRE – DOG OWNER, VECTRA LOVER
Yes, I love my Vauxhall. We go back so far that I have difficulty remembering them all. I was a reasonably young woman when I exchanged my Triumph Dolomite for a special edition blue Chevette. For ten years my cars became two-seaters as the back was carpeted so my Deerhound could lie flat out – travelling the length and breadth of the country in style. After my Vectras it will be a sad day when I finally have to buy something smaller. There’s always the Corsa, of course!
STAR LETTER – SJ FERMOR, CROWBOROUGH, EAST SUSSEX
My introduction to Vauxhall was in 1935, when my father bought a nearly-new Vauxhall 14–6 to replace a 1930 Citroen, which had a draughty hood and discoloured celluloid windows.
I cried, but the garage proprietor kindly assured me that I could visit his showroom at any time to see the old Citroen! Our luxurious Vauxhall (by the standards of the day) had red wheels. In 1947 I passed my driving test in it. Father replaced it in 1957 with a nearly new Velox, but for some time the 14–6 was still a familiar sight – being used by the local sweep! My own first vehicle was a Mk2 Bedford 12–seater Utilabrake, which was ideal for our large family. My fourth son is a rapid response paramedic and uses Vectras for duty. In 2006 he bought his own new Vectra – the same as my current car except for the colour. In my desk I have the Book of Vauxhall 1857–1946 (and a receipt for the 3/6 that it must have cost when it was bought), plus various Vauxhall postcards, a recent publication on the Vauxhall Heritage Centre and a copy of This is Vauxhall – which was a memento of my visit to the Luton factory some fifty years ago. My childhood tears of 72 years ago for the old Citroen have also long since dried, and I have never regretted my addiction to Vauxhall.