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Vauxhall Motors has been a subsidiary of General Motors Corporation (GM) since 1925. In the rest of Europe Vauxhall cars are branded as Opel.

The original company was founded by Alexander Wilson in Vauxhall, in London, back in 1857. Rather than being able to look for used Vauxhall cars in 1857, you’d be more likely to find marine engines and pumps. It wasn’t until 1903 that Vauxhall produced its first car. The car wasn’t quite the smooth running vehicle they are known for today; instead it was steered with a tiller and had just five horsepower. It also only had two gears, forwards and reverse.

At the time the company traded under the name Vauxhall Iron Works, and it wasn’t until two years after their move to Luton in 1905 before Vauxhall rebranded to Vauxhall Motors in 1907.

One of Vauxhall’s early cars was the Y-Type Y1, which was built to compete in the RAC & Scottish 2000 Mile Reliability Trials in 1908. The car was a huge success, beating all other cars in its class by an average of 37 seconds.

Today Vauxhall is better known for mass produced cars at affordable prices, such as the Vauxhall Zafira, which became the first MPV to feature in a list of the top 10 selling cars in the UK.

The credit crunch has caused a dip in sales in a great many areas, with new cars being one of those areas. Consumers are being more careful with their money, having less of it to spend, and the purchase of a new car is one such purchase that many people are putting off for the time being.

For this reason many people are opting for second hand cars instead of new cars as they can represent much better value for money and the prices are low with the current economic climate the way it is.

Reliability is also a factor with used cars, which is why motorists can’t go far wrong with a used BMW. BMW’s are famed for their mechanical reliability so you know when you buy a used BMW you’ll hardly ever need to fork out for repairs. With cost also being a factor, a used Ford is one of the cheapest cars to repair. As Fords all use the same engine parts and are produced in such volume, the cost of having a used Ford repaired is much less than most other car makes. A used Vauxhall is another reliable used make that won’t cost the Earth to get repaired and is built in a sturdy fashion.

With the global recession causing reduced spending and reduced consumer confidence, the demand for new cars has fallen sharply in the last few months. Instead many shoppers are looking at good quality used cars, of which there are many manufacturers offering reliability and affordability.

Which used car you look for depends on your requirements. For example, if you have a large family and you’re looking for a people carrier then a used Vauxhall Zafira could be your best bet. A used Vauxhall Zafira has the reliability you need, with the flexibility of a large car and the added assurance of being a safe car.

When it comes to prestige vehicles, you can’t look much further than a used BMW 3 series. A used BMW 3 series is the car of choice for sales reps throughout the country, so they are used to clocking up a lot of mileage. For a cheap family car there’s one obvious option, and that’s to become part of the ‘Mondeo Man’ culture and go for a used Ford Mondeo. A used Ford Mondeo is a cheaper alternative to a used BMW and will serve you well as a family car.

For a smaller car you could opt for the classic option of a used Ford Fiesta or a used Vauxhall Corsa. Both cars have stunning looks and have reinvented themselves in recent years from the ‘boy racer’ culture that once dogged them.

The name BMW has always gone hand in hand with quality, as whether you buy new BMW cars or a used BMW, you know what you are buying is excellent craftsmanship and engineering. It very nearly went wrong for the German car manufacturer though.

BMW suffered three major crises in its history that has threatened the company, but ultimately only served to make it stronger. The first two were caused by the first and second world wars, with the end of World War I causing much lost business for the firm. World War II saw many of the firm’s plants bombed by the Allies. Both of these crises were survived by BMW.

BMW went through its third crisis in 1959 when the management wanted to sell the troubled car maker to new owners. The major shareholder at the time was a man named Herbert Quandt, and he almost signed the deal before deciding at the last minute, against advice from his bank, to actually increase his shares in BMW. He then owned 50% of the German car manufacturer, before turning the company’s fortunes around.

Just a few years later BMW was ready for expansion, and bought up the company Hans Glas GmbH, which held factories in Landshut and Dingolfing allowing the productions of new BMW cars.

When Herbert Werner Quandt died in 1982, his vast fortune was passed to his daughter Susanne Klatten, who is now regarded as the richest woman in Germany.

IT’s OUT!! Schumacher is the STIG!!!! 21st June 2009, on Top Gear, the Stig is finally unveiled as F1’s Michael Schumacher! The golden child of F1 graced the Top Gear set on Sunday night and finally reveled that he was in fact the tamed masked driver The Stig.

Talking to Jeremy Clarkson (in a rather easy-jetesq orange blouse -how very masculine) on the Top Gear couch, Michael admitted that he in fact was the infamous Stig.

German born Michael Schumacher has won the F1 championship seven times and is hailed as one of the sport’s most statistically greatest diver of all time. Starting his career as part of Benetton saw him scoop his first two championship wins. His move to Ferrari in 1996 saw him engulf F1 with 5 consecutive wins from 2000-2004.

Joking on the Top Gear couch, Schumacher jovially corrected Clarkson stating he is banned in 9 not 12 states, admitting that he only knows two facts about ducks and dodging the question if he really punched a horse in the face.

The show ended with the Stig doing a less than impressive lap on the Top Gear test track, with an amusing abysmal sub standard effort, which saw him make a meal out of the circuit and manual gear box, going down the wrong way and rearing off the race tripod before plummeting into a dazed and bewildered camera mans tripod! More Mr. Bean than Michael Schumacher.

This one kept us fully on the edge of our seats! Thump up to this on Top Gear!!!!

An increasing awareness of the impact that fossil fuels are having on the environment has forced manufacturers to seek alternative methods of powering all kinds of vehicles, including vans. Whilst the technology to create commercial vans that are entirely powered by ‘green’ fuels is still in its infancy, hydrogen powered vehicles and hybrid (gas/electric) vehicles are currently the two front runners for medium term environmentally friendly vehicle design.

New vans that are ‘hybrid’ run on a combination of fuel and electricity technology, although with the advent of better battery design some manufacturers are now looking at producing commercially viable vans that run purely on battery power. Recent research into the charging time of standard batteries is producing some interesting developments in ‘rapid charge’ cells, but these are still a couple of years away from being an effective commercial option. So most manufacturers opt for the combination choice or even incorporate other fuels such as LPG (liquid petroleum gas) or natural gas.

New design parameters are placing the drive battery under the van’s flooring, which means that there is no loss of cargo area in the back of the van. This is an important consideration for logistics companies who want to maximise the use of space as efficiently as possible whilst still adhering to a greener transport policy.

Hydrogen-powered trucks and vans could also soon become a reality, thanks to a British technology company. ITM Power, based near Saffron Walden, Essex, has unveiled a converted Ford Focus, which runs on hydrogen, but can switch back to petrol if the hydrogen supply is exhausted.

The firm has also developed a home refueling station, capable of producing the gas from water and electricity. ITM’s demonstration vehicle, which has completed successful urban commuting trials, can travel 25 miles on a single recharge of hydrogen.

An ITM spokesman says: “Although the initial demonstration vehicle is a car, vans and trucks will also be able to use the new fuel system to give CV operators huge potential cost savings on delivery journeys, as well as further reducing CO2 emissions.

The strict new fuel economy standards recently set forth in the Obama administration mean that by 2016 all heavy vehicles such as SUVs, vans and minivans will need to get to the minimum 35.5MPG standard. Manufacturers will have little choice but to move toward either hydrogen or electric hybrid technologies to accomplish this, but right now it still unclear which technology will capture most of the market share.

General Motors and its sister companies such as Vauxhall plan to be the leader in plug-in hybrids starting with the Chevy Volt. In 2012 Vauxhall’s FLEXtreme vehicle looks set to take things further with its new range of technologies still in conceptual stage. It has a major opportunity to extend its E-Flex architecture to SUVs and trucks by 2016.

This blogger is betting on a move towards the fuel/electro hybrid standard over hydrogen fuels over the short to medium term. With the 2016 clock is definitely ticking down and development further along in ‘plug-in’ and electric technologies, hybrids provide easier short term functionality and portability for manufacturers. Although Hydrogen is full of promise, the strict 2016 deadline offers very little chance to develop the technology to the point of commercial viability.

Give us your thoughts, what is the future of full-ups, c. 2016? Hybrids, Hydrogen, or none of the above?

Source: ITM Power, Vauxhall Concept Cars, Politico

Vauxhall 2010 Meriva

Vauxhall 2010 Astra

Vauxhall 2010 Insignia VXR Sports Tourer

Vauxhall 2012 Ampera

Vauxhall FLEXtreme Concept