Vauxhall in England and Opel in Germany were takeover attempts by General Motors to establish themselves as leading auto makers in those countries.

Vauxhall is one of the great names in British motoring and its history can be traced back to more than 100 years. It has produced some of the UK's most popular vehicles, such as the Victor, Cavalier and Corsa, as well as the Bedford van. It was in 1903 that the first car to bear the Vauxhall name was manufactured, although the company that built it had been formed in 1857. Keen motor industry historians will correctly point out that the name dates back hundreds of years before that to the late 12th century. Fulk le Breant was granted land by King John and it was his house by the River Thames in London that became known as Fulk's Hall, which was corrupted into Fawkes Hall, later Foxhall and ultimately Vauxhall. The name survived as a district of south London and it was near Fulk's Hall that the first Vauxhall was made by the Vauxhall Iron Works.

The first model was just five horsepower, had no reverse gear and cost £136 — a goodly sum at the time. A six horsepower model — with reverse — followed in 1904 and it was the following year that the company moved to Luton in Bedfordshire, which was to be its home ever after. In 1911, Vauxhall produced the C-type, later known as the Prince Henry — a door-less four-seater which was effectively the first true sports car from a British maker. After World War I, the company introduced the D-type and the glamorous 4.5-litre 30/98 which proved a big motor sport success. But the company pulled out of motor sport in 1924 to concentrate on the needs of ordinary drivers, producing the M-type, later known as the 14/40. In December 1925, Vauxhall Motors became a wholly owned subsidiary of America's giant General Motors Corporation. The move led to a big expansion of production, which in 1925 was only around 1,400 cars from a workforce of about 1,800. There was also a move into commercial vehicle production, with the first Bedford vehicle — a two-tonner — appearing in April 1931. The Bedford was an instant success, spawning a whole succession of buses and vans.

For the growing number of families now venturing on to the roads, Vauxhall produced the Cadet in 1930, with prices starting from £280. Other successful models included the 10-4, a variant of which appeared at the 1938 motor show priced at just £189.During World War II, Vauxhall churned out Churchill tanks and Bedford trucks for the services and also did work on aircraft jet engines. By 1953, output topped 100,000 vehicles a year for the first time and the company built its one millionth vehicle. Work began on a new car plant at Ellesmere Port on Merseyside in 1961, with production beginning there in 1964. There was also expansion in the 1960s at Luton and Dunstable. Vauxhall enjoyed a boom in the 1960s, with nearly all families now able to afford a car.

Vauxhall cars have sported the famous griffin emblem which was derived from the coat of arms of Fulk le Breant and which has undergone a number of reincarnations down the years and survive today.

Edited from the Gurdian, UK, September 10, 2009

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A sample of Vauxhall literature available from McLellan's Automotive History
1938/39	1948	1951
1953	1953	1953
1954	1957	1960
1960	1963	1963
1964	1964	1964
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1966	1966	1967
1968	1969	1969