Whatizit???

[greg g]

From Vancouver BC, what is the car with tag no 174634????

[T120]

I would guess a 1955 Vauxhall

[Uncle-Pekka]

Yes, It is a Vauxhall Velox six. The tail light design is easy to recognize. This body was made from 1951 until 57. My Dad had one before my time. He recalls it was a good car and strong engine compared to other european cars at that very time.

I recall having heard, they made this car in Canada also? Or I might be wrong?

[bamfordsgarage]

...I recall having heard, they made this car in Canada also? Or I might be wrong?

You might be. I believe the Vauxhaulls were made in England and shipped to Canada in the 1950s and '60s, along with a host of other small English cars that were unsuited to Canadian winters and travel distances.

I owned two very used Vauxhalls in my youth. One a 1961 Vauxhaull Estate (station wagon) and the other a 1964 Vauxhaull Viva coupe. Vauxhalls were sold by Chevrolet dealers and the Viva was also re-badged as a Envoy Epic and sold by Pontiac dealers.

This is my '64 Viva. For some forgotten reason we four lads (sharing the house in the background) decided we needed a number of empty appliance cartons and brought them home on top of my car. If you look carefully at the rear box, rear face, you can see where a pen has been stuck into the cardboard to catch the rope coming around the rear. Without this pen, the whole works would have come tumbling down. We made it the two miles from the appliance store without mishap.

[P14C 1942]

Up untill 15 years ago they were still a common sight here in New Zealand. They were assembled here between 1951-57 I think and are called EIP Vauxhall Velox's.

[Uncle-Pekka]

I believe the Vauxhaulls were made in England and shipped to Canada

Yes, for sure Vauxhall main works were in Luton, England, near to London. Vauxhall is an old brittish make, started car manufacturing in the beginning of 1900's, bought by GM in late twenties, I belive.

What I most probably recalled wrong was, that they should have a daughter factory in Canada - probably never did.

I owned two very used Vauxhalls in my youth. One a 1961 Vauxhaull Estate (station wagon) and the other a 1964 Vauxhaull Viva

I am truly sorry for the Viva, but every man has to bear his cross. In Finland we have a saying describing Vauxhall Viva, but due to the forum rules I cannot rephrase it here... Yankees are so easily disturbed by hard words...

[greg g]

Put it up with redacted obsenities, we can probably fill the appropriate phrases.....

[randroid]

Chris,

Was carrying those cartons on the car's roof the beginning of a life-long passion for having all your worldly possessions near at hand and above you at all times or simply an early example?

-Randy

[Niel Hoback]

BOX HOARDER! I knew it!

[Rusty O'Toole]

Vauxhall cars were never made in Canada but many were sold here. Canada being a British Commonwealth country, English makers could export to Canada with no import duties to pay and minimal red tape.

The British government was hungry for hard currency right after the war and implemented a policy of forcing manufacturers to export as much of their output as possible. This was quaintly named the "Export or Die" policy.

English car sales began in Canada with the 1947 models and continued through the fifties and sixties before petering out in the seventies and early eighties.

Best sellers in the fifties were Austin, Hillman and Standard Vanguard and Mayflower sedans, MG Triumph and Austin Healey sports cars and of course Jaguar. I have seen a few Vauxhalls Rovers and Humbers but not many. The Vauxhall Viva, Envoy Epic and Pontiac Firenza (all Vauxhalls sold by Pontiac dealers) were a phenomenon of the sixties and seventies.

Ontario and British Columbia were the biggest buyers of English cars. At one point in the early fifties English cars accounted for 90% of the import cars sold in the US and Canada. This was before VW and Renault put on their big push.

In the picture you can see the Vauxhall, also an Austin to the left and possibly a dark colored Rover in the middle and the rear window of another Austin to the right. All about equally distant from the camera.

Edited June 3, 2012 by Rusty O'Toole

[bamfordsgarage]

Chris,

Was carrying those cartons on the car's roof the beginning of a life-long passion for having all your worldly possessions near at hand and above you at all times or simply an early example?

-Randy

I wondered that myself when posting that photo this morning. Until the Dodge roof rack, however, I've rarely carried anything upstairs on any vehicle. The Vauxhaull stunt must have been a prediction of the long-distant future.

[B-Watson]

You might be. I believe the Vauxhaulls were made in England and shipped to Canada in the 1950s and '60s, along with a host of other small English cars that were unsuited to Canadian winters and travel distances.

I owned two very used Vauxhalls in my youth. One a 1961 Vauxhaull Estate (station wagon) and the other a 1964 Vauxhaull Viva coupe. Vauxhalls were sold by Chevrolet dealers and the Viva was also re-badged as a Envoy Epic and sold by Pontiac dealers.

This is my '64 Viva. For some forgotten reason we four lads (sharing the house in the background) decided we needed a number of empty appliance cartons and brought them home on top of my car. If you look carefully at the rear box, rear face, you can see where a pen has been stuck into the cardboard to catch the rope coming around the rear. Without this pen, the whole works would have come tumbling down. We made it the two miles from the appliance store without mishap.

Vauxhalls were sold by Pontiac-Buick dealers in Canada, arriving in the dealers when all Buicks were imported. From 1948 through to early 1951 there were currency restrictions on the American dollar in Canada and any imported car had to have government clearance first. Thus the drop in sales of Packard, Kaiser-Frazer, Hudson, Nash, Buick, Cadillac, Lincoln and 8 cylinder Chryslers.

The Wyvern 4 was sold in Canada 1949 to 1957, Velox 6 1949 to 1962, Cresta 1955 to 1962, Victor 1957 to 1970 and Viva 1964 to 1970. The one in the photo was built before 1955. The 1955 models got larger, fancier taillights although still on the sides.

The Envoy (1960-1970) and Envoy Epic (1964-1970) were sold at Chevrolet- Oldsmobile dealers. Did very well the first year, outselling the Corvair, but sales dropped over the decade and the Vega replaced it for 1971.

Over at the Pontiac-Buick dealers, the Vauxhall Victor and Viva were replaced by the Vauxhall Firenza for 1971. It became the poster child for all the troubles with British cars - shoddy workmanship, troublesome electricals, engines that would not run, rust, etc. For 1973 P-B dealers got their own versions of the Vega, the Astre, and the Firenza was no more.

Some British manufacturers sold cars in Canada prior to WW II. Vauxhalls were imported before the GM takeover in 1926, and Austin, Morris and Hillman had distributors in Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver in the 1930's. These cars were usually left hand drive.

A 1930's Austin 7 owner in Winnipeg liked the car so much it was planted in the back garden when it was replaced. Do not know if it is still there (doubtful) but it was there in the summer of 1980.

No Biritsh cars were built in Canada, although Austin did build a factory in Hamilton, I believe. No cars rolled out of the doors, but it was used as the main parts warehouse for Canada. Austin, Ford and GM had parts warehouses in Canada, but the rest relied on their distrubutors to keep their parts supplies up and had no main warehouses. Which cost them in the long run.

[normanpitkin]

I had a 1955 Vauxhall Cresta,truly a terrible car,underpowered,slow and above all ,RUSTY.

Somehow the brake fluid got mixed in with the fuel and it produced enough clouds of smoke to disguise a battle fleet.I sold it soon afterwards and bought a 1959 Ford Zodiac ,that was far better in every respect.