Firstly, commiserations go to the workers at Vauxhall who will lose their jobs and best of luck in securing new ones.
Who to blame? According to Sky news, the lack of sales of the ......wait for it...the Vectra! are being blamed. Well what a surprise. I'm no fan of Jeremy C when he seems to bad mouth just about any vehicle which doesn't pack 460hp of 24 cylinder raw power blah, blah. But he was definetly right on this one.
I've owned about a dozen cars inc. the mighty Cavalier, without hesitation the Vectra is the worst-the Cavalier the best. I'm not a technician but purely from the point of view from what your average driver wants from a car, it just doesn't deliver. Under engineered coupled with a largely'couldn't care less give us all your money' inept dealership network, this has been coming a long time.
Before you say it's easy to stick the boot in when someones down, complaints about the Vectra have been around since its launch. If I remember rightly the adverts for the 'improved' Vectra boasted well over 200 changes- for a new model!
Was this car a conspiracy between GM and the Trade to keep garages in business?
I sincerely hope that lessons will be learnt (love that phrase) and the industry will realise that you cannot continue to palm off crap onto the hard working public and expect to get away with it indefinetly - collectively we have a big bite! Get your act together Vauxhall and don't expect me to shed a tear.
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Alf,
well said,
Rick Wagoner take note.
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GM were found out with the Vectra,and if they dont learn from it they will go the way of Rover in the UK.
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I drove an ex-girlfriends two Vectras.
One was an estate, on a hatch. Both 1.8l.
I thought they were fine!
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I've never liked Vauxhalls. They seem to lack character and desirability, somehow. They're just 'industry-standard cars' with no attraction for me whatsoever.
*Ducks for cover*
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The 2.5 V6 vectra I drove once was very nice, seemed well built to me.
Andrew
www.hispecgolfs.co.uk
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One can only feel sorry for the British workers who are losing out in this way.
Had a Vectra for 80k miles, never let me down, very few problems and, yes, well built. No bodywork rattles even at that mileage, and no wear on the interior or seats. Previous Cavalier was as good. Brilliant motorway car, and economical. Dealers were fine.
The Fords that preceded it were cheaply built, uneconomical, rattly and fault ridden from new, and the dealers simply didn't (couldn't?) fix them.
No surprise I've just bought an Astra.
Regards
john
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Since I've had four Vauxhalls in the past, I wouldn't say I'm anti-Vauxhall, but I think they're falling badly behind Ford. The Astra may be a fine car, but the styling (and that's what most people see first) is booooring. I've driven the Vectra (SRi 140). Apart from a hard ride (not unexpected), it was okay, but compared to the Mondeo/Passat, it looks dull.
My main reason for not buying another is reliability. My last Cavalier was the most unreliable car I've ever had!
My advice would be to dump the Vauxhall brand altogether, badge everything as Opel, and get a decent stylist!
Andy
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I agree about the Passat Andy P.
My brother has one and it's excelent.
In fact the three best cars I've ever been in were, my Dad's passat in '88. My bro's 2001 Passat and my dads old 406 SRi. (that was back in R reg I think).
Maybe I just don't get out enough...
Still hate people slagging of perfectly good cars like the Vauxhalls.
If you're a company driver on a new car every 24 months you don't want the same thing twice.
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As I have posted many times before ... more slagging of Vectras = more perfectly good cars at ridiculously cheap prices for me!! Who hoo.
However after 6 months the honeymoon is definatly over.. wish I had a bit more torque from the 1.8 (should have held out for a 2.0 DTi) I find it very capable but dull and uninspiring to drive hard... but that keeps the licence intact and the preimums down
Still happy with mine
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i owned a G.T.E. astra about 13years ago.Everybody had an 8v or 16v or Pug 205GTI. it was in white with white alloys,with digital dash. Good car in its day,what went wrong vauxhall with your later designs? So boring!
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Passats are fine but boring, the new Mondeo is brilliant, the Laguna is a bit wierd, the Primera is a lot wierd but the Vectra is, and always was, crap
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I was very happy with the 2.2LS Vectra I bought in January. Fuel consumption a bit naff but otherwise very torquey engine, almost diesel low down and like a rocket over 4000rpm!
Sadly now been back twice with squeaking front seats, the passenger seat eventually rectified by myself anyway, twice with dashboard squeaking and now my aircon has packed up.
Admittedly I've had a free service out of the dealer after giving them a rollocking but my relationship with VX is starting to go sour...
Unless the new Vectra (30000 mile service intervals - they've gotta be joking) is a bloody big build quality improvement it'll be Volvo (I guess) who'll be getting my money next time round...
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