Vauxhall Motors is a UK car company and is a subsidiary of General Motors.

Alexander Wilson founded the company in Vauxhall, London in 1857. Originally named Alex Wilson and Company, then Vauxhall Iron Works, the company built pumps and marine engines. In 1903, the company built its first car, a five-horsepower model steered using a tiller, with two forward gears and no reverse gear. This led to a better design which was made available for sale.

The griffin emblem, which is still in use, is derived from the coat of arms of Fulk le Breant, a mercenary soldier who was granted the Manor of Luton for services to King John in the thirteenth century. By marriage, he also gained the rights to an area near London, south of the Thames. The house he built, Fulk's Hall, became known in time as Vauxhall.

To expand its production the company moved to Luton in 1905, and so the griffin emblem returned to its ancestral home. The company continued to trade under the name Vauxhall Iron Works until 1907, when the modern name of Vauxhall Motors Ltd. was adopted. The company was characterised by its sporting models, but after the First World War, designed more austere models.

More Modern Times!

The first years of the 21st century saw Vauxhall further strengthen its position in the British market, and continue to narrow the gap with Ford. The Corsa was regenerated in 2000 and offered a better-handling, better-built and better-equipped package than ever before.

2002 was one of the best years ever for Vauxhall sales in the UK. The updated Corsa (launched in 2000) was Britain's second most popular new car, and gave the marque top spot in the British supermini car sales charts for the very first time. The Astra was Britain's third best selling car that year, while the Vectra and the Zafira (a Compact MPV launched in 1999) lurked just outside the top ten with relatively strong sales.

The Vectra entered its second generation in 2002 and was further improved over earlier Vectras, but was still hardly a class-leader and now had to be content with lower sales due to a fall in popularity of D-sector cars; although a facelift in 2005 sparked a rise in sales.

Perhaps the most important Vauxhall product of the 2000s so far is the fifth generation Astra, launched in early 2004 and praised by the motoring press for its dramatic styling which was a world of difference from the relatively bland previous Astra. It was an instant hit with British buyers and was the nation's second best selling car in 2005 and 2006, giving the all-conquering Ford Focus its strongest competitor yet. The second generation Vectra went on sale during 2002 but has not sold as strongly as its predecessor. Its successor is due in 2008 and will give Vauxhall a fresh new competitor in a sector which has shrunk considerably in Britain over the last few years.

The second generation Corsa had been Britain's most popular supermini for most of its production life, but by 2006 it had started to fall behind the best of its competitors, so an all-new model was launched. This Corsa was far better than either of the previous Corsas, and it was an instant hit with buyers.

In 2006, the second generation Zafira was Britain's 10th best selling car. It was the first time that an MPV had featured in the Top 10 best-selling cars in Britain.

Highlights in the new Vauxhall car range include the Vauxhall Agila, an agile city car with enough power to comfortably handle the motorway and the Vauxhall Astra a smart and spacious hatch back.

Now Vauxhall are pleased to be able to supply the new racing inspired Vauxhall VXR range.The VXR range features a number of models including the awesome Vauxhall VXR8 and the rapid Vauxhall Corsa VXR.