Talk:Vauxhall Motors

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"From the 1970s, most models were designed and built in partnership with Opel in Germany. The Chevette, Cavalier and Carltonbasically facelifted versions of the Kadett, Ascona and Rekord."

I dispute this somewhat. Vauxhall and Opel have always made similar cars, not surprising since they are both GM subsidiarys and there obviously was a lot of cross-fertilisation. This is true going back to the 60s - the then Opel Kadett is fairly similar to the Viva. However, they were not the same cars throughout the 70s, the Vauxhall versions were home-grown and engineered variants that shared relatively few parts in common with the Opel cars, they even had totally different engines. It wasn't really until the 80s that they became the exact same car, with nothing but badging to separate them. I'm not sure how to change the text to make this clear however. GRAHAMUK 03:46, 21 Nov 2003 (UTC)

[edit] Logo Problem?

Recently it seems someone thumbnailed the logo image, then comments appeared like "trying to improve image", etc. As not just the original uploader of this image, but I actually drew it in Illustrator, I'm wondering what is wrong with it exactly? I have the original 2M file so if there is something wrong, let me know and I can fix it. I also feel that thumbnailing it is pointless - it's small anyway and was equally discreet in its original form - the additional border that thumbnailing causes doesn't improve the look of the page in this case. I'd suggest reverting to its original layout. Note - change for the sake of change is just daft - if it ain't broke, don't fix it! Graham 09:14, 8 Aug 2004 (UTC)

I've not played around with images before, but there was a load of HTML around the two images that looked as if it could be disposed of, so I did, and then the image started looking 'unclean'. Please tidy it up, if you would. Noisy 09:27, 8 Aug 2004 (UTC)

I've restored the original HTML. The apparent complexity is a legacy of the older method WP used for aligning images - it's still supported though more complex to set up, so there is no need to "fix" it.Graham 12:34, 8 Aug 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Commentary not suitable for article

Came across this Jeremy Clarkson commentary. Too sarcastic/opinionated for the article, but funny nontheless. Clarkson is lamenting the effect GM has had on its Vauxhall subsidiary:

"...Vauxhall’s a part of General Motors which, so far as I can tell... seems to concentrate mainly on pensions and healthcare and for as long as I can remember has seen the car making side of the business as an expensive loss-making nuisance. This explains the [old] Vectra. They gave it some seats, a pair of windscreen wipers and a roof, and, just before the morning coffee break, with a sigh of relief, went back to their Medicare and pension plans." [1] --Mark83 13:49, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Clarkson has always been rude about Vauxhalls, I'm not sure why, probably had the trauma of learning to drive in a Viva or something - I know I did ;-) The Monaro is the only one he has ever seemed enthusiastic about, so it's clear that as long as you give it enough grunt it doesn't matter about the rest of it. One of his comments that stuck with me particularly was his scathing remarks about the HPF that "it sounds like a sporting tractor and goes about as well". Probably feels the same way about the HS Chevette, which Tiff Needell drove on Top Gear once and was really impressed with. These cars were the Monaros of their day, you'd think JC would get that! Ah well, he's entertaining enough in his way. Graham 00:19, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

If you get a chance read the full article because he actually likes the Astra Sport Hatch! Mark83 08:37, 22 May 2006 (UTC)