Today I am sharing a blast from the past–the 1971 Firenza brochure from my personal collection. For those of you Canadians who might possibly remember seeing a rare survivor, now you can see how these cars were presented as new–and without rust spots!
From prior CC articles, I gather that these cars had, ahem, troubles. It’s too bad, because it is a rather nice, cheerful-looking little car.
The Firenza was a Canada variant on the British Vauxhall Viva HC. But the Firenza was hardly sparkling to its original owners, as apparently no shortage of trouble could be had with them.
The two-door wagon was rather interesting. Looks kind of like a cut-rate Volvo 1800ES. But with none of the Ovlov’s stolid dependability, unfortunately. It seems the early emissions hardware was less than robust. That, other classic British hiccups and a propensity to dissolve nearly as fast as a sugar cube mean few are left today.
It was a disaster for both owners and dealers, and also spelled the end of Vauxhalls of any stripe in Canada. After 1972, the Vega-with-an-arrowhead Astre replaced it in showrooms. From the frying pan, and all that.
This brochure came with a bunch of other Canadian brochures I won on the electronic bay years ago. There was also a ’68 Canadian Pontiac brochure, as well as 1977 and 1978 Pontiac, and 1978 Buick. But this one was the most interesting, as I had never heard of these before.
Too bad the owners had to be the proving ground for the issues with the Firenza. If it had been a solid little car, might we still have Vauxhalls in Canada–and perhaps the U.S., today? Who knows!
Related: Cohort Sighting: 1971 Firenza
I can almost hear the crinkling sound of them rusting, note that the guy in the white lab coat is taking a step back and protecting his clip board from flying brown rust flakes.
Too bad Vauxhalls didn’t last longer, like the Hyundai Pony they were very popular for a short while until word of mouth killed their reputation.
Good thing they learned their lesson with…. oh, wait
It is a fact of life that, in those days, German Fords and Opels were WAY better than their UK counterparts. Especially when it came to rust proofing and fit and finish. And the national hobby back then in Germany certainly wasn’t going on strike.
Very fast with the slant 4 OHC engines from the Victor.
I’ve never understood how it is that by the 1970s, compact cars by Ford and General Motors have deteriorated in quality. For Ford, they had the Pinto and Mercury Bobcat, with its vulnerable fuel tank that would catch fire on impact. For General Motors, the Vega, the Monza, the Pontiac Astre. All piles of crap that rusted to death as soon as they left the dealer showrooms. One positive thing I can say about this Canadian Firenza is that it has the better looking front end appearance than the Chevy Vega.
Lackadaisical build quality combined with the belief that if you wanted better, you should had ponied up for an intermediate or full-sized ride with all of the trimmings, perhaps?
If that isn’t unforgivable attitude, I don’t know what is.
That is a pretty gigantic piece of fixed side glass on the wagon…
And that back end looks remarkably like a shrunken ’66 Chevy wagon!
Wow, that is some rear quarter glass on that 2 door wagon!
The front kind of looks like the cross between a 67 Firebird and 67 Chevelle.
The back (sedans) definitely look like a scaled down version of a 66 full size Chevy.
I only recall seeing one of these in semi-recent times. A brown, automatic sedan that belonged to a friend of mine. He was a big Vauxhall nut but only luke warm on the Firenza. It sold shortly after this photo in 2004.
Hi David,
I know that this is an old message that I am replying to, but, this car belonged to my dad before this picture was taken, I would love to track it down and see if it still exists. Any idea on who owns it?
Thanks ,
Pawel
These were badged as Vauxhalls but sold through Pontiac dealers no?
Yes, these were sold by Pontiac-Buick dealers. It’s interesting that the pics show “Vauxhall” badging on the rear – I don’t believe the cars actually had this, and the Vauxhall name doesn’t appear anywhere in the brochure text. Per the cover, it was marketed simply as the Firenza, but based on this I’m inclined to think it was a last-minute change.
That’s why I was wondering, the Vauxhall emblems on the car, but as I far as I knew it was just “Firenza”.
It’s also funny that the font in the brochure is very “Buick/Oldsmobile” looking.
There’s no mention of Vauxhall in the brochure at all, either.
I stand corrected – here is a photo of a Canadian spec car with “Vauxhall” badging per the brochure…
It’s weird that the cars are badged Vauxhall, but in the brochure it’s all “Firenza” this and “Firenza” that–as if it was the make and not the model.
Looks Opel Kadett-ish in its appearance
You’re correct – the Opel Kadett & the Vauxhall Viva were sister cars. Selected Buick dealers were selling the second generation Opel Kadett B in the U.S. almost at the same time their Vauxhall sibling were being sold in Canada – the Commonwealth linkage, again, as U.K. vehicles were imported into Canada at favourable tariffs.
A miniaturized ’68 Nova with quad headlamps from a ’66 Corvair and a ’66 Caprice rear end grafted on. The side view of the red hatch looks like a Chevette design study. Quite the blend of Chevy styling ques, apparently with a dose of Vega reliability and rustproofing for an authentic touch of low end Chevy feel.
It’s actually not a bad looking package, too bad the car didn’t hold up to its looks and packaging. GM might have been able to hold back the Japanese with a better effort.
How odd. My first thought was GM Plymouth Cricket.
The fastback estate end was effectively a development of the previous HB Viva/Epic model. This had no dropped opening between the rear lights so, to make it easier to load the tailgate angle was increased so a load could be lifted over the sill and then dropped in. As you can see, on the HC Viva/Firenza the opening went right to the floor but they obviously preferred the sporty look of the flowing tailgate, though now it gave little practical advantage. Looks good though.
The contemporary Kadett was a much more boring/practical shape
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Opel_Kadett_B_Kombi_BW_2011-09-03_13-38-00.JPG
What a pleasant looking little car it is. Such a waste when good styling and packaging is undermined by poor build quality and engineering.
Perfect 🙂
The taillights and lower part of the liftgate on the 2-door wagon look like the rear of a ’66 full-size Chevy wagon.
Gotta love the “lab technician” who “subjected the car to rigorous testing” in the second photo.
Lots of little old ladies drove them in my hometown at one time. Haven’t seen one in the flesh in years. They were total crap cars.
Here in the great white north, the word Firenza used to provoke the same sentiments that the word Edsel did in the states. I think there was even a class action lawsuit over the rust problems these cars had. They were totally extinct by the time the province of BC issued me a driver’s license in the late ’70s.
I recall seeing the coupes and sedans when I was younger and they were new, but I never knew about the wagon. I kind of like it.
The wagon screamed Chevette to me from the side. That does look like a great beginning for a drag car though.
These cars were badged Chevrolet in South Africa and there was a special run of 100 cars with a 305 cu SBC called Can Am.
Rumoured to be one in the UK with a Perana Granada.Time for a bit of South African muscle at CC.
May 1973: trouble brewing already:
December 1975:
Well, it’s not a total washout. They changed the pivots for the windshield wipers so the left (North American driver’s) side was wiped better.
BL couldn’t even manage that with the Austin America…tho actually the wipers on the Austin look so small they probably did an equally poor job on both sides no matter how they were pivoted.
Bland, boring, unreliable. That’s how I remember these cars back in the day. Not the vehicle for a long Canadian winter either. Ugh!
Its only recently that I’ve understood how much this car was designed for north America as much as the UK, and Europe. This drove the size up, to a point in between the Escort and the Cortina, which didn’t help its chances in the UK. The engine sizes at 1256cc and then 1800 cc were out of step as well. The 2300cc was quick, but rare, and large for a 4 cylinder. The American intentions would also have influenced the styling, I suspect.
Durability was issue here as well. The interior was always quite simple, with a symmetrical design in which the instrument pod or glovebox could be interchanged, and the warning lights were in a stack in the centre. All Vivas had (as far as I can remember) the wide strip of painted metal on the door tops
In the UK, the saloon and estates were Vivas, though later the 1800 and 2300 were named as Magnum, with the twin headlamps and Rostyle wheels. The Coupe was a Firenza, and was totally rolled over by the Capri, and not just on style.
My Aunt had an early Firenza 1.2 in white, which was quite a novelty at the time
While the Viva/Firenza/Magnum had a reputation for rusting a lot of drivers rated them better than BL’s horrible Marina and the replacement Chevette.
Canadian Viva/Firenzas differed from the UK version in the suspension tune New Zealand got both export and UK grade cars believe me Canadian export Vivas handle and drive vastly better than UK grade, Canadian spec Firenza is NZ spec Magnum they share the 4 light grille and larger Victor OHC engines though there was an el cheapo 1300cc Magnum when the sub brand gained popularity.
In England wasnt the firenza the coupe and the hardtop called a magnum someone will know My father bought a 2.3 firenza new in 1972 twin strombergs minimal rear seating but went very well for the time kept it about a year and traded it in for a 164 volvo not much difference there Previous to the firenza he had a vauxhall victor 2000 and before that a vauxhall cresta pc 3.3 4 speed floor change a proper barge on wheels
PC Crestas rock!The best and favourite of the cars I’ve owned
3.3 Victors rock much lighter than the Cresta with the same power train.
Sold as the Ventora in the UK.
NO the Ventora was an up scale Victor with all the trimmings we got very few of those The 3.3 Victor was merely the Cresta powertrain in a regular Victor very popular for racing and as a rally car they were fast for their day. They were GM NZ only not a UK model.
I’ve seen a powder blue FD Ventora with a 3.3 Cresta 6 cylinder engine.The owner lived across the road from me.He later had an FE that Dad bought from him a few years later then my brother got it
Does anyone else find it ironic that GM would even consider resurrecting the Firenza name seeing these cars were plagued with problems? And you have to love the brochure describing the “intense” rust proofing these cars received! Only GM!
I’ve read that GM Canada lobbied to use the Starfire name on the Olds J-car because of the stink the Firenza name had in Canada, but weren’t successful.
Not to mention the variations on stinko names GM has used recently for Daewoo rebadges
Suzuki Forenza (one letter changed)
Chevy Epica (Epic was a rebadged Viva sold by Canadian Chevy dealers in the 60s)
Even GMC couldn’t resist re-using the Envoy name (another Vauxhall gem sold by Chevy Canada in the 60s)
Holden even reused Viva for their version of the Daewoo Lacetti
The only other Viva Aussie ever got was the HA it was hoped customers memoties didnt go that far back, The HB Viva was badged Holden Torana they never got the HC in this article
But was the Oldsmobile Firenza sold north of the border? If not, then they probably figured that people on this side of the border never really knew the full extent of the problems of the original, plus 10+ years of time passing.
If so…I imagine the Canadian sales targets for the Olds Firenza should have been commensurately low.
Those never made it into western New York that I can recall, even though I live only 90 miles from Niagara Falls. This brochure is the first time I’ve seen them.
Given the lousy experience the Vega produced for GM and its customers, wonder why they didn’t save themselves the expense and just slap Vega badges on these and get the same experience for their customers much cheaper…….and make more money in the bargain.
Geez, even the 2 door version is ugly.
The Vega was indeed sold in Canada, as was a Pontiac-badged version called the Astre (also sold in the US in 1976-77). I remember the Firenza, and the notoriety, and have posted elsewhere about them being the catalyst for Canada’s very first class action lawsuit. Thank you, General Motors!
GM had imported Vauxhalls, sold as either Vauxhalls (Pontiac-Buick dealers) or Epics (Chev-Olds dealers), dating back to the mid-1950s. They were steady sellers and offered a lot for the money as even in the pre-Autopac days they were duty-free because of Imperial Preference (which is why Canada got Vauxhalls and the US got Opels). The collapse of British build quality in the early 70s just killed this good-looking car. By the early 80s these were already are extremely rare sight in even in mild-climate, rust-free, British-car-friendly Vancouver, where I would regularly see older Vauxhalls and Epics rolling around.
Somewhere I have a 1977-vintage South African GM brochure, in Afrikaans, for the Chevrolet Firenza. Yep, same car.
It is fun to see all the interest in the Canadian market variants. Next up, does anyone have a line on a curbside Mark III Ford Cortina (1971-73), esp. the 73 with Ford UK’s interesting interpretation of safety bumpers??
Good luck finding one in Canada’s harsh climate.There’s supposed to be less than 1,000 left in the UK.A good looking car but very prone to tin worm,Mum had a light metallic green Mk3 which was a good car
Tom! How did I miss this post from a couple days ago? I love seeing brochures for US-spec versions of unexpected cars, even when the subject matter is, um, a pox upon the face of motordom – such as the Firenzafied Viva. Used to be loads of Vivas around here in all the body styles, and all quite awfully joyless. The styling achieved that rare feat of managing to suck all the cheer from me every time I saw one. Far, far to much metal above the front and rear wheels, the wheel track’s too narrow, the back windows (on the 4-door sedan) barely wind down, yada yada yada . I think I whined on in a similar vein last time one was posted, so I’m boring myself now. A schoolmate’s father had the weirdo wagonoid one, in white, through the 80s and 90s, I can confirm that the rear end of them is quite ungainly in the metal – although visually distinctive. I reckon the wagonoid looks remarkably like an AMC Pacer after 5 minutes on High in a microwave. Anyway, regardless of my sleep-deprived insomnia-fuelled rant, the brochure is a great find and I enjoyed studying it.
Thanks for this post. I didn’t know GM sold some Vauxhall models in Canada! The interior was very attractive.