1934 Vauxhall Model BX

History

A UK car company, Vauxhall Motors is a subsidiary of General Motors. The griffin emblem, which is still in use today, is taken from the coat of arms of Fulk le Breant, a mercenary soldier who 'was granted the Manor of Luton for services to King John in the thirteen century'. This soldier gained the rights to an area near London by marriage, and the house he built, called 'Fulk's Hall', became known as Vauxhall over time.

The Vauxhall Company was founded in 1957 by Alexander Wilson, and had originally been named the Vauxhall Iron Works as it produced pumps and marine engines. Its first vehicle was built in 1903, a 5 hp model that was steered using a tiller, with only two forward gears, and no reverse. Eventually, a better design was produced and made available for sale.

The company relocated to Luton in 1905 and the griffin emblem returned to its ancestral home. Until 1907 the company continued to trade under the name Vauxhall Iron works, and then the more modern name of Vauxhall Motors Ltd. was chosen. Originally the company was known for its sporting models, but following the First World War, it began to design more austere models.

GM purchased Vauxhall in 1925 for 2.5 million U.S. dollars. During WWII, car production was suspended at Vauxhall to allow work on the Churchill tank, which had been designed at Luton in less than a year, and also assembled there. Production resumed after the war, but models were designed as more mass-market product.
In 1934, Vauxhall introduced a very rare, very classy roadster. The Vauxhall BX was produced from 1934 through 1936, and a total of 3,788 units were produced during its three-year production run. The chassis was built in England and then shipped to Australia where it was fitted with a special body by Holden, GM's subsidiary.

By Jessica Donaldson