Ellesmere Port Celebrates Five Decades Of Production

VAUXHALL recently celebrated 50 years of production at its Ellesmere Port facility by recreating the original 1964 press image of the first vehicle coming off the line, in the same production location with today’s Astra alongside. The first new car to be produced at Ellesmere Port was a Vauxhall Viva HA, a model name that would run in a number of variants until 1978, when it was replaced by the Chevette. The Viva cost £527 7s 11d at launch.

Holiday Motor Excursion rides again

“We can get there faster on the 210,” we told our piloto, Harry Hernandez, in whose 1924 Model T we were driving. “The freeway? What are you, nuts?” he asked.

Ssangyong relaunches brand with Giugiaro-designed Korando

Korean brand Ssangyong is back from the dead. After looking odds-on favorite to become another automotive casualty of the global recession after Chinese owner SAIC put it into receivership in early 2009, the 4x4 specialist has found a new owner in 2010 – signing a memorandum of understanding with Indian company Mahindra & Mahindra in August – and has just re-launched its brand with a new car designed by Giugiaro. The fourth-generation Korando mid-sized crossover – prefaced by the C200 concept shown at the April 2009 Seoul motorshow – is due on sale in January 2011 pending the expected completion of the Mahindra deal in November this year.