Latest news

There is a select group of cars that are so quietly efficient and dependable that they were often taken for granted during their lifetime. The Vauxhall Senator is one such vehicle – purposeful, luxurious and rather handsome. Plus, in 24v form, one of the great Q-Cars of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The original Senator A of 1978 had a Griffin-badged counterpart in the form of the Royale, Vauxhall announced, without any undue sense of modesty, that ‘only very occasionally a great new car is born…a car of commanding authority designed and built to the highest standards’. Not to mention a ‘car for discerning motorists who will settle for nothing but the best’.

In reality, the Royale was a re-badged Opel that was powered by a 2.8-litre carburettor engine rather than its stablemate’s 3-litre fuel-injected engine. When the Senator was facelifted as the A2-Series in 1982, the Royale was discontinued. However, as David Booker notes in the fascinating http://vauxpedianet.uk2sitebuilder.com/ website, sales remained ‘frustratingly static’ until 1984 when the Senator was re-badged as a Vauxhall.

By that time, Opel had been established in the UK for 17 years. Many drivers regarded its image as slightly upmarket of Vauxhall. By 1975 the Chevette and Cavalier marked the start of Rüsselsheim’s influence on Luton, and by October 1981 the two operations merged their marketing operations. However, this simple change of name proved to be one of Vauxhall’s wisest sales decisions of the 1980s.

Firstly, the Griffin badge enhanced the Senator’s appeal to the many fleet buyers who felt duty-bound to ‘Buy British’ – even if the car in question was made in Germany. Secondly, the Royale name was already dated by the late 1970s; it sounded like an exceedingly naff provincial nightclub. Vauxhall did initially consider reviving the Viscount badge, only to find United Biscuits now registered the name for their range of mint-chocolate confections!

The Senator also benefitted from competitive pricing - the 2.5i at £11,372, the 3.0i at £13,423 and the 3.0i CD (with ‘an advanced LCD instrument panel’ as standard) at £14,565. The advertisements presented the latest Vauxhall as an alternative to the Ford Granada Ghia Mk. II with the subtle claim ‘this is no dressed-up family car’.

Three years later UK sales of Opel ended with the demise of the Manta while the Senator was extensively up-dated as the “B”. The body was a long-wheelbase version of the Vauxhall Onega A while the dealership guide promoted it as an alternative to the Audi 100 C3, the BMW E34 or the Mercedes-Benz W124. The range consisted of the 2.5i, the 3.0i orthee 3.0i CD, the last-named featuring an almost decadent level of fittings.

Autocar thought the CD benefited from its ‘formidable standard equipment” but “Its performance hardly rates against the opposition”. Similarly, Gordon Cruickshank of Motor Sport noted:

Whether in manual or automatic form, those 177 horses feel rather restrained, possibly because of the high level of refinement, and a fair amount of shifting is needed to make the most of them. Yet the chassis feels good for a big car, understeering no more than expected, and easily controlled with the large wheel.

Luton’s response to such complaints was the 1989 CD 24v. For £1,250 more than the standard CD, the buyer gained a top speed of 140mph in automatic form – or 149 mph for the five-speed manualtransmission version.It was a Vauxhall for the discerning MD or barrister, with an engine aspiration system that permitted it to function below 4,000 rpm as a pair of three-cylinder units.

The automotivepress was most taken with the 24v; Autocar& Motor wrote ‘look at the Senator’s credentials and you can see why its attack on the established luxury sports saloon stars should be taken seriously’. Carregarded the 24v as‘one of the most underrated executive cars around’ but alsoargued that it wore “the wrong badge”.

It was an issue that had long been perceived as a challenge to the sales of the Senator. Clive Richardson wrote in the February 1979 edition of Motor Sport that ‘while the Senator and Monza tested undoubtedly justified a high price, I can’t help sympathising with Opel’s marketing team, who have one major hurdle to overcome in their new found aspirations: the image in a name’.

Eight years later, Car compared the B-Series3.0i CD to the XJ6 3.6 and the Rover 827 Sterling. Their conclusion was:

The Vauxhall is a fit alternative to the Jaguar. It doesn’t have the name, of course, but it is very well furnished (some people like that PVC interior) and in refinement it is a vast step on what was offered under the same name last year.

And in 1990 the Autocar& Motor report that praised the 24v’s road manners also stated ‘it will be difficult to convince a prejudiced public that a Vauxhall can live up to a Mercedes-Benz’. With the benefit of hindsight, many a Senator aficionado contends that it might well have enjoyed greater popularity had GM created a new prestige marquee a la Toyota with Lexus.

It is a tempting idea, one that might have enhanced sales of the 24V in particular, but it also possessed a drawback. A Senator served as an aspirational model within the Vauxhall family – an object of desire to anyone whose current transport was a Nova Merit. Furthermore, the most high-profile Senator buyers were less interested in social status than with maintaining law and order.

The “Police Special” Vauxhalls (without air-conditioning, electric windows and central locking) flagged down many an errant XR3i driver across the UK. When Top Gear magazine evaluated a Thames Valley patrol car in 1993, they remarked‘you may outrun a cop car, but you’ll never out-brake one’. Shortly before the end of production in autumn 1993 many forces stock-piled the Vauxhall.

The Senator B never enjoyed the commercial success it deserved, but today its merits are widely appreciated throughout the classic community. Put simply, it was the last, and possibly the greatest of the big Vauxhall saloons - and a car with a definite sense of presence.

Why choose Lancaster Insurance?

Here at Lancaster, we love classic cars as much as you do and we understand what it takes to protect them for future generations.

We have links with some of the top classic car clubs around the country and some of our policies even offer discounts of up to 25% for club members.

Other benefits of classic car insurance through Lancaster can include:

• Historic rally cover
• Static show cover
• Limited mileage discounts
• Choice of repairer
• 24-hour claims helpline

Give your classic the protection it deserves and get a quote for your classic today.