# Why is Opel called Vauxhall in the UK? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 3, 2009, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-opel-called-vauxhall-in-the-uk/479651 "2009-01-03T01:10:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-opel-called-vauxhall-in-the-uk/479651/41 "2009-01-07T15:40:50Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > I’m sure I remember there being separate Opel and Vauxhall model lines on sale in Britain in the 70’s, although the Opel models were already very similar to Vauxhalls. In addition to the Manta, there were the Kadett and the Rekord, slightly different shapes to Vauxhall’s Chevette and Carlton, respectively. Yep… the lines weren’t “unified” until 1979-1985, when the Astra and Nova/Corsa were launched. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-opel-called-vauxhall-in-the-uk/479651/42 "2009-01-07T15:50:05Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > That’s basically it; Vauxhall’s bread and butter is fleet sales, and fleet buyers want to buy British. Better tax break, _much_ better PR. Frankly, I think they underestimate just how much better their non-fleet appeal would be if they dropped the Vauxhall name. A Buy British tax break? That is news to me. Would that even be legal under EU law? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-opel-called-vauxhall-in-the-uk/479651/43 "2009-01-07T15:57:15Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > A Buy British tax break? That is news to me. Would that even be legal under EU law? That’s a good point- probably doesn’t apply anymore. That was the rationale for not “contracting” the badge in '93, though. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-opel-called-vauxhall-in-the-uk/479651/44 "2009-01-07T21:57:16Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > When it comes to cars, it’s generally better not to sell British anywhere you go, even Britain. High-end British cars have a reputation for being superb for about six minutes, then breaking down. Low-end British cars\* just have a reputation for breaking down. > > \*Nowadays, Ford of Europe and Vauxhall, basically, since Rover has finally snuffed it. Ford may have that reputation in America, but not here. Not for the past decade or two, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-opel-called-vauxhall-in-the-uk/479651/45 "2009-01-07T22:12:01Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > When it comes to cars, it’s generally better not to sell British anywhere you go, even Britain. High-end British cars have a reputation for being superb for about six minutes, then breaking down. Low-end British cars\* just have a reputation for breaking down. > > \*Nowadays, Ford of Europe and Vauxhall, basically, since Rover has finally snuffed it Don’t remind me about Rover (ours is still going, but lots of bits fall off :p) but even the Germans were impressed by the Focus in comparison with something sturdy like a Golf. Ford brought in a lot of changes apparently with the Focus and following models. ---
**Author:** ![Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Throatwarbler_Mangrove)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-opel-called-vauxhall-in-the-uk/479651/46 "2009-01-07T22:21:13Z")
> [@](#): > > but even the Germans were impressed by the Focus The Ford Focus was designed and (initially) built in Germany, so it would stand to reason. I think the Focuses’ main leg up was that it had independent rear suspension, which was uncommon on small hatchback cars. The only other car that has that IIRC was the old Honda Civic hatchback, another car known for sharp handling. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-opel-called-vauxhall-in-the-uk/479651/47 "2009-01-07T22:28:04Z")
> [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](#): > > I think the Focuses’ main leg up was that it had independent rear suspension, which was uncommon on small hatchback cars. The only other car that has that IIRC was the old Honda Civic hatchback, another car known for sharp handling. Independent rear suspension has come and gone in the family hatchback category for years. The Mark III Ford Escort had it way back in 1980. ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-opel-called-vauxhall-in-the-uk/479651/48 "2009-01-07T22:43:32Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > When it comes to cars, it’s generally better not to sell British anywhere you go, even Britain. High-end British cars have a reputation for being superb for about six minutes, then breaking down. Low-end British cars\* just have a reputation for breaking down. :D:D:D Brilliant! So true, so painful:) _Edited to add:_ I had an Opel Kadett way back. A god-awful thing with deckchairs for seats and 96 Db served up costantly. It did however have a good heater, a clock and a tachometer. Anybody’s guess why as it was never going to get there on time and only did 80mph max. Just like the heap that Jamie Lee Curtiss drove in “Perfect” ---
**Author:** ![Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Throatwarbler_Mangrove)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2009, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-opel-called-vauxhall-in-the-uk/479651/49 "2009-01-07T23:08:09Z")
> [@](#): > > When it comes to cars, it’s generally better not to sell British anywhere you go, even Britain. High-end British cars have a reputation for being superb for about six minutes, then breaking down. Low-end British cars\* just have a reputation for breaking down. Since the Japanese are well known Anglophiles, I think the Japanese must have at least some non-ironic nostalgia for British cars. Back in the day of the Rover/Honda pact, in exchage for having rebadged Honda Civics, Accords and Legends to sell as Rovers, Honda got to sell a rebadged series I Land Rover Discovery called the [Honda Crossroad](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Crossroad). Reliable cars must get boring after a while. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-opel-called-vauxhall-in-the-uk/479651/50 "2009-01-08T00:33:38Z")
> [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](#): > > Reliable cars must get boring after a while. What exactly _did_ the Japanese get out of that deal anyway :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-opel-called-vauxhall-in-the-uk/479651/51 "2009-01-08T01:22:36Z")
For you Brits: how hard is it to finda Rover 2000 (with the V-6 engine) in the UK these days. They were cool cars ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2009, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-opel-called-vauxhall-in-the-uk/479651/52 "2009-01-08T02:21:54Z")
> [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](#): > > Since the Japanese are well known Anglophiles, I think the Japanese must have at least some non-ironic nostalgia for British cars. Back in the day of the Rover/Honda pact, in exchage for having rebadged Honda Civics, Accords and Legends to sell as Rovers, Honda got to sell a rebadged series I Land Rover Discovery called the [Honda Crossroad](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Crossroad). Reliable cars must get boring after a while. The Japanese do have a fetish for British cars, especially small ones. (Original) Minis are highly collectible in Japan, among other things. Land Rovers were never as unreliable as other Rovers; perhaps because they were mostly diesels, but I think it’s probably because they didn’t get their electrical parts from Lucas, which was as shitty a parts supplier as you could possibly imagine. Honda’s always had a weird strategy for the 4x4 market- rebadge somebody else’s products as Hondas. AFAIK, the Acura MDX and RDX are the only SUVs that Honda actually bothered to build themselves… and amusingly enough, didn’t put Honda badges on them. Actually, now that I think about it, Honda builds the CR-V and HR-V itself. > [@Pushkin](#): > > What exactly _did_ the Japanese get out of that deal anyway :dubious: Some proprietary technology of dubious usefulness- Rover wasn’t exactly turning out state-of-the-art products back then, or even middle-of-the-art… but more importantly, factories in Britain, which was a Big Deal because there were very strict quotas on how many cars Japanese (and only Japanese) manufacturers could import to Britain. It’s the main reason why none of the Japanese mini-/city-cars like the Mitsubishi Dangan ever made it to Britain- they made much bigger margins on bigger cars. Crying shame, really. Turned out to be a big waste of time, because British buyers didn’t trust Rover-badged Hondas much more than they did Rover-badged Rovers. Honda ended up building their own factory in Swindon and selling UK-built Hondas. > [@ralph124c](#): > > For you Brits: how hard is it to finda Rover 2000 (with the V-6 engine) in the UK these days. They were cool cars You mean the [Rover SD1](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rover_SD1), I think… and the V6 version was the 3500. They’re not hard to find- [Jeremy Clarkson bought one for a thousand pounds](http://www.topgear.com/uk/videos/bl-sht) for a Top Gear challenge a few years ago. (Video) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-opel-called-vauxhall-in-the-uk/479651.md?page=2)