The revolutionary Opel Ampera today celebrated its world premiere at the 79th Geneva Motor Show. General Motors Europe president, Carl-Peter Forster, unveiled the extended-range electric vehicle and announced plans to put the car into production in late 2011.
The Ampera will also be offered with right-hand drive in the United Kingdom by Opel’s sister-brand, Vauxhall. (more…)
With the 2009 BTCC season almost upon us, Vauxhall has just launched two stunning limited editions based on the Corsa and Astra VXR to celebrate VX Racing’s success in the 2008 British Touring Car Championship.
Known as the Corsa and Astra VX Racing Editions, they will have a combined production run of 888 cars. And that number just happens to coincide with the name of Vauxhall’s race experts, Triple Eight Engineering, who build and prepare all the VX Racing Cars and contributed so much to Vauxhall’s triumph in the BTCC last season when it won the BTCC’s Drivers’, Manufacturers’ and Team championships. (more…)
Few will claim that Vauxhall’s storming VXR8 super-saloon is lacking in the power stakes, but just in case there were any doubters, the Bathurst S Edition will put them straight.
Thanks to the addition of a Walkinshaw Performance 122 Supercharger, the Bathurst S dispenses 560 V8 horsepower, compared with the standard car’s 431 horsepower, and produces searing acceleration throughout the rev-range and a spine-tingling, banshee wail when you hit the loud pedal. (more…)
Spanish car maker SEAT is revolutionising the new car market with a set of truly stunning offers this January.Forget 1917’s February Revolution, the dynamic Latin motor maker is launching its very own assault on the automotive establishment with a set of stunning offers across its model range. (more…)
The current financial situation means that fleet managers are scrutinising costs even more closely than usual, with concerns including high fuel prices and increasing environmental pressures. With this in mind, Vauxhall is offering fleet customers more choice than any other manufacturer to reduce their environmental impact, with more than 366 model variants to choose from with carbon dioxide emissions of less than 160g/km. (more…)
Small vans with low running costs have never been more popular – and according to leading light commercial vehicle magazine What Van?, the Vauxhall Corsavan is the best of the lot.
The prestigious publication awarded Corsavan the title of ‘Small Van of the Year 2008’ – the second year in succession that it has taken the accolade – citing its road manners, fuel economy and modern, streamlined styling as the key features that made it more attractive than rivals.
What Van? Editor Neil McIntee said that Corsavan’s car-derived origins gave it extra appeal in a heavily competitive sector.
“On the face of it the latest breed of small vans ought to spell the end for commercials based on hatchback cars,” he said, “but from the viewpoint of status-conscious customers Corsavan is a far more acceptable sight on the typical suburban driveway.
“What’s more, Corsavan comes with all of the virtues of the car on which it is based. As a consequence, it comfortably outclasses similar products so far as driveability is concerned”
Corsavan’s popularity is reflected in its sales figures – By the end of November, Vauxhall had sold 2,253 Corsavans in 2008, 169 more than in the whole of 2007.
“The small van market is growing more and more important as businesses look to keep their costs under control,” said Steve Bryant, Vauxhall Commercial Vehicle Brand Manager. “The fact that Corsavan shares so much with the multi-award winning Corsa car means we have a van that offers class-leading levels of quality, dynamics and roadside appeal, all of which are increasingly important to commercial vehicle customers.”
Vauxhall sold over 53,000 vans in the UK in 2007, and is Britain’s biggest manufacturer of light commercial vehicles. By the end of 2008, the company will have constructed over 100,000 vans in the UK at plants in Luton, Bedfordshire and Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.
The 176mph Lotus Carlton super-saloon has been voted the UK’s favourite Vauxhall in a poll of 630 owners ran by the website vauxhalldriverscentre.
The results – which also included votes for the favourite Vauxhall from the last five years – were gathered over a single month and put the Lotus Carlton in first place ahead of the Calibra and Cavalier.
The Lotus Carlton was a technical tour de force for Vauxhall and garnered immense press respect for its power, performance and dynamics. Officially, the fastest four-door production car in the world when it was launched in 1989, the Lotus Carlton’s twin-turbocharged, 377bhp engine powered the car from 0-62mph in 5.4 seconds and all the way to 176mph.
Favourite model from the last five years was the current VXR8’s wild predecessor, the Monaro, which entered UK showrooms in 2004. Branded ‘…a true rear-wheel drive muscle car for enthusiasts’, the Monaro combined a fiercely competitive price with plenty of standard kit and a 5.7-litre V8 engine. A year later, a VXR version received the 6.0-litre engine from the Corvette, making it the fastest car Vauxhall had ever produced. The VXR8 and Astra Sports Hatch came in second and third respectively.
Running second overall to the Lotus Carlton as favourite Vauxhall of all-time was the Calibra, with its class-leading Cd figure of just 0.26. Based on the Cavalier’s chassis, the Calibra wowed buyers and media alike at the Frankfurt Show in 1989 with its swooping lines and four-seater capability. Four-wheel drive and turbocharging enhanced the package in later years, with a total of 40,000-plus cars being sold in its six-year production run.
The Vauxhall Drivers’ Centre website was created exclusively for Vauxhall owners, adding value to their ownership experience with on-line technical support, special offers, event information and an enhanced level of general information about the Vauxhall brand.
The Vauxhall Corsa has been voted Britain’s Training Car of the Year for a fourth consecutive time, polling nearly half of all the votes cast by driving instructors and road safety professionals who read adiNEWS. (more…)
In one of the hardest-fought contests in recent years, Vauxhall’s Insignia has taken the honours as 2009 European Car of the Year, polling an impressive 321 votes.
The 59-strong jury of senior motoring journalists from 23 European countries voted the Insignia first, with the Ford Fiesta and Volkswagen Golf coming in second and third respectively. (more…)
Vauxhall Insignia has unveiled the first ever drive-on grille and light shine service for cars.
A quirky twist on the famous New York shoeshine chair, the ‘Insignia Shine Service’ has been built to highlight the importance of maintaining clean front and rear lights on cars, especially as the clocks go back this weekend and winter is drawing in. (more…)
The new Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer raises the bar for premium design in the mid-size estate sector, combining the elegance of its hatch and saloon siblings with an even higher degree of practicality and versatility. (more…)
The next generation Vauxhall Astra will receive its premiere at next year’s Frankfurt Show, delivering a compelling mix of technical innovation and groundbreaking design that promises to raise the bar in the compact sector. (more…)