Vauxhalls - A part of my life since the day I was born

A car's just a thing to get you from A to B, to make life a bit easier. There so you don't have to sit next to some crazy stranger on the bus or stand on a freezing platform waiting for a train that you know is never going to arrive.

Well that's what I thought anyway.

But it seems I was wrong.

I was sat daydreaming on my lunch break today, nibbling my jam sandwiches, when for no particular reason I started thinking about Vauxhalls. I haven't got a clue why, maybe one had just driven past the bench I was sitting on, but Vauxhalls it was that preoccupied my thoughts for the remainder of my lunch hour.

First memories
I got to thinking about how one of my first ever memories was Dad bringing home his brand new company car, a sparkly Vauxhall Cavalier SRi. I was three years old and amazed by the shiny lump of metal parked on the driveway; to me it looked like some sort of magical spaceship.

Now I don't remember much more about that car, apart from being sick in it once after eating too many sweets, but it's there, way back, sat on the driveway among the snow, as one of the first things that left an impression in my head.

But it wasn't the first time, it seems, that a Vauxhall played a big part in my life - if first memories are indeed a big part of one's life. I definitely don't remember this one on account of being about 20 hours old, but apparently the first ever car I went in was a Vauxhall.

It was, so my mother tells me, a sky blue Vauxhall Viva HC belonging to my grandparents and, if childhood memories of my grandpa's leisurely driving are anything to go by, it must have taken us hours and hours to cover the ten miles between the hospital and my new home.

As I say, I don't remember this, partly because I was a tiny creature that looked like a cross between a bulldog and ET, and partly because I probably slept like a log for the entire journey. But anyway, a Vauxhall it was that gave me my first experience of Britain's roads.

As luck would have it, it was also a Vauxhall that almost gave me my last experience too. And I definitely haven't forgotten this one.

Lucky escapes
It was a cold and windy November night in the late 1980s and I remember it like yesterday. I had been out to watch the football with Dad and was sitting in the back seat of his yellow (eugh) Vauxhall. I don't know what type of Vauxhall it was but it was definitely a Vauxhall because I remember getting told off once for colouring in the griffin badge on the front with a felt tip.

Anyway, there we were driving home and there was an almighty storm going on outside. I was strapped in all sleepy after the evening's excitement and not just a little bit frightened by the wind that was howling around the car.

Next thing, crash. The roof of the car came flying down towards me and there seemed to be an explosion of glass. Then there was the cold and the rain coming in, not to mention the horrible screaming of the wind.

I couldn't move, I seemed to be surrounded by bits of metal roof, and I distinctly recall seeing a little black bug walking along a tree branch that was now protruding through what had been the window.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared - in fact I was completely petrified - but I was old enough to work out that a tree had come down in the wind and had just happened to have landed on top of us.

It was then that I started to scream like a girl, shouting for my daddy and struggling to get out of the bent and twisted cage that I was imprisoned in. I could hear Dad outside, not surprisingly worried sick but also telling me to calm down and that everything would be okay.

As it turned out, everything was okay in the end. The fire brigade turned up and cut through the wreckage to get me out, by which time I was soaking wet and freezing cold. Miraculously, with the exception of a few scratches, there was nothing wrong with me and I was sent home after a quick check-up at the hospital.

I got the next day off school and got spoilt rotten but the day after that I had to get my uniform on and go back. I needed no excuse to tell my tale and for the rest of that week I was a mini celebrity, gleefully showing off my cuts and boasting about how I was allowed to sit in the fire engine.

Dad's Vauxhall wasn't as lucky as me. With a big old beech tree embedded in its roof it went off to the scrap yard, replaced not long after by some other car. I can't remember what it was but it certainly wasn't yellow.

Seeing the world
You would've thought that nearly dying in a Vauxhall would signal the end of my relationship with that Luton-based manufacturer but it seems my life was destined to continue crossing its path as I got older.

Next stop was a rusty brown Holden Camira, the Australian version of the Vauxhall Cavalier that I bought for the price of a bag of peanuts. Now with a driving licence in my wallet and lucky enough to be able to travel around Australia for a bit, I spotted the corroding heap in a Melbourne second hand dealership and managed to haggle the dodgy looking salesman down to a ridiculous price.

So I chucked in my sunnies and my boardies and proceeded to thrash this brown monster around Australia. And when I say monster, I mean monster.

This thing sounded like a beast, it leaked petrol continuously and it broke down almost every day. Stuffing was coming out of the seats, the exhaust was riddled with holes and turning the thing on meant hot-wiring it.

But, despite all that, it did the job. Me and my trusty Holden covered thousands of miles, tearing through the Outback, picking up hitchhikers and generally having an absolute whale of a time.

I spent the best six months of my life with that car and I can tell you now that the feeling of watching it get crushed after it finally broke down beyond repair was something akin to losing a lover.

I eventually got over the loss of that rusty brown car and I know I shouldn't but I am still prone to nostalgic glances at the photos of our travels that live hidden away in a box at the bottom of my wardrobe. I think some things, especially things that are liable to break down that often, are probably best left in the past.

Really, this is all mindless drivel brought on by whatever it was that started my mind wandering whilst I was eating my jam sandwiches earlier today and it's probably just coincidence that Vauxhalls seem to have been there at the crucial points in my life.

Maybe you can do the same with Fords or Volkswagens or BMWs? Maybe you don't want to. But, whatever, I've enjoyed my little mooch into the past and it's given me the chance to have an afternoon away from writing about cheap car insurance. So cheers, Vauxhall.

More Car Insurance News

Motoring costs rise by 10% in two years
Gravediggers and taxidermists have few crashes
Elders enjoying cheaper car insurance quotes
'Fronting' warning from GoCompare.com
Websites reveal privacy breaches
Eco car insurance take-up increasing
Canada to see Toyota car insurance
Direct Line offers advice to young drivers
Tesco launches motor insurance quote comparison site
UK car insurance firm uncovers risky habits
1 in 4 may mislead car insurance firm
88% don't know what to do after a car crash
Tiredness threat to road safety
Top Gear presenter faces £9,000 quote
GreenFleet accolade for Citroen
AA Insurance looks at car-buying concerns
20% don't compare car insurance quotes
Car insurance quote reminder issued to parents
Confused.com investigates penalty point fraud
Car insurance prices to rise in 2008
Churchill warns of 'rusty driver syndrome'
esure invents insect nets for cars
Woman drivers prefer jetting abroad for a dream road trip
BMW car insurance index
History of Vauxhall
Top 3 BMWs
BMW owners comment on their cars
BMW awards
Record sales for Volkswagen
Online mag looks at green car insurance quotes

Motor Insurance News Archive

September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
Car insurance news 2005

For more information, please see:

• Why choose duck2water?
• How to buy online
• Breakdown cover
• Glossary
• Customer testimonials

Get a cheap car insurance quote now!