Three Vauxhalls of legend - duck2water take a closer look

The roads are packed full of Vauxhalls, as even the shortest of journeys will reveal. Vectras, Zafiras, Corsas – they're all out there, used by travelling salesmen, mums on the school run and spotty teens who've just torn off their L plates.

This is by no means a new phenomenon and the tarmac of Britain's motorways and country lanes has felt the rumble of Vauxhall tyres for nigh on a century. It all started way back at the beginning of the 20th century with a car that had no reverse gear and could only crawl along at the pace of a slightly speedy tortoise. Not surprisingly, there have been numerous developments since, enabling today's top-of-the-range Vauxhalls to hit speeds exceeding 170mph.

Of course, these changes have been gradual and Vauxhall have churned out quite literally millions of cars, all the time using the latest advances in technology to produce models that test the boundaries of science and motoring.

Here at duck2water Car Insurance Services we love Vauxhalls, especially getting our customers cheap car insurance deals on them, so we thought we'd take a look back at some of the models that have really left their mark on British motoring.

Vauxhall Prince Henry
It's only right to start way back in 1911 with the Vauxhall Prince Henry, officially known as the C-type. With 60bhp, a three-litre engine and a top speed of 70mph, this really was the car to own for anyone who was serious about the newfangled fad of motoring.

It began to be called the Prince Henry after performing fantastically at a long distance motor trial organised on the Continent by Prince Henry of Prussia and the name seemed to stick. Further successes followed at other events such as the Swedish Winter Trial and the Russian Reliability Trial and the vehicle soon built up a deserved reputation as a top motor car.

Sounding like a snip today, but undoubtedly a small fortune at the time, the Vauxhall Prince Henry went on the market at £580. Only the very upper echelons of society would have been able to afford such a car but this didn't stop Vauxhall selling well over a thousand models, a testament to how good the design really was.

The Prince Henry had given Vauxhall a firm grounding in the motor industry and the company went from strength to strength, producing other popular models such as the E-Type 30/98 and the Cadet. Production of cars stopped during the Second World War to let Vauxhall do their bit by providing the military with tanks and trucks but when the war was over they picked up just where they had left off.

Vauxhall Victor
In 1957, twelve years after the conclusion of the fighting, Vauxhall released the Victor which initially turned out to be a fantastically popular car that was snapped up by 390,000 buyers. It was different from anything ever seen on British roads and had a distinctly American feel.

There was a panoramic windscreen, rear fins, masses of chromium plated trim and a shapely body that had curves in all the right places. On top of this was a 1508cc engine that gave the Victor great acceleration up to a top speed of 75mph whilst also providing fantastic fuel economy.

But it wasn't all good and before long Vauxhall Victor owners started to notice that their cars had something of a rust problem. The bends and curves that gave the Victor such a smart look provided the perfect place for rainwater to sit and the car's ultra-modern metallic paint reacted badly with the base metal to make the problem even worse.

It was this rust issue with the Victor that led to Vauxhall cars gaining an unshakeable reputation for being particularly prone to corrosion. This reputation stuck well into the 1980s but, in fairness, cars from other manufacturers were just as bad and Vauxhall did make moves to eradicate the problem well before the rumours ceased.

Vauxhall Cavalier
Sales of the Victor slowed in the 1970s and competitors such as the Ford Cortina, Morris Marina and Austin Maxi started to make a big dent in Vauxhall's profits. Something needed to be done and the answer to the problem came in the form of the brand new Vauxhall Cavalier.

Launched in 1975, the Cavalier was available as a two or four door saloon as well as a two door coupé. The engine on the original model came in 1.6 and 1.9 litre options and a powerful 2.0 litre variant was added not long after.

The Cavalier proved to be immensely popular and proved to be a massive hit as both a company car and a family getaround. Easy to drive, economical on fuel consumption, big and safe, yet with a punch under the bonnet, it sold countless models and was shipped all over the world under various names.

The early Cavaliers still suffered from being prone to rust, though by no means as badly as earlier Vauxhalls, and it was probably this that led to them being named in 1996 as Britain's sixth most scrapped car of the last 30 years.

However, the rust issues were eventually sorted out and Cavaliers continued to be bought by UK motorists in huge numbers. Testament to their quality and popularity is the fact that today, more than 12 years after the last ever Cavalier was built, they're still frequently visible tearing down the outside lane of our motorways, sounding just as sweet and looking just as good as the day they rolled off the production line.

Unbelievably cheap car insurance for your Vauxhall
We've looked at three Vauxhall models that have become ingrained into British motoring history but there are so many more out there that we could've taken a peek at. There's been the Astra, the Belmont and the Cresta, the Royale, the Six and the Tigra, not to mention the Vectra and the Viva; the list goes on and on.

So whatever type of Vauxhall you own, get in touch with duck2water Car Insurance Services today to get an unbelievably cheap Vauxhall car insurance deal. Such is our passion for Vauxhalls that we've managed to work out some special deals that mean you can get more motor insurance for your money.

Click on the button below right now to find out just what an amazing deal we can do for your and your Vauxhall…