(first posted 4/19/2016) In retrospect, the automotive marketplace in Britain in the early 1960s was a straightforward place. There were small cars, medium sized family cars, large family cars, luxury cars, sports cars and Rolls-Royces. For Vauxhall, that meant the Viva (1200cc, wheelbase 92in), the Victor (1600cc, wheelbase 100 in) and the Cresta (2600 or 3300cc, wheelbase 107 in). Ford matched this, model for model, as did Rootes apart from the smallest car. From 1962, this all started to change.
First, in 1962, came the Ford Cortina. Technically, very conservative and priced to compete with the BMC ADO16 Morris 1100, but crucially more commodious for people and luggage, or salesman’s samples, and with a healthy dose of style and a range of engines and options BMC just didn’t offer.
And in 1963, Rover and Triumph both launched new cars, smaller than the Vauxhall Cresta and Ford Zephyr, both named 2000, and both aimed at the same, new spot in the market. A car sized to match the Cortina and Victor, but with upscale branding to present a new option for the buyer of the Zephyr and Cresta (and Rootes’ big Humbers and BMC’s largest Austins and Wolseleys). The reasoning was that just because you could afford a Cresta, you might not need the space and you would be more than happy to accept a more compact and perfectly practical version of the Rover 3 Litre, Humber Super Snipe or Austin A110.
The modern compact executive class of car was born, and the rest is history.
But how did Ford, Rootes and Vauxhall compete? Ford offered the 1966 Corsair 2000E and the 1967 Cortina 1600E, with all the luxury trimmings, Cortina GT engine and same compact size. Rootes turned the Super Minx into the 1963 Humber Sceptre, with a twin carburettor engine planned for a Sunbeam Rapier and Vauxhall created a luxury derivative of the Victor FD, marketed as the Ventora, in early 1968.
The problem for Vauxhall was that the only available engine to use was the 3300cc from the larger Cresta. Power was up compared with the highest power 2 litre, the VX4/90, but so was the weight for the car, with an additional 200lb all over the front wheels. Transmission was either a four speed manual or a two speed Powerglide (very unusual in Europe) and the gearing was very low, so acceleration was sharp and cruising was louder than you might expect.
The car was visibly distinguished by a different grille, close to the style used on the US market Envoy by General Motors, a vinyl roof (officially optional), coach lines and wheel trims. Inside, full instrumentation and a luxury interior (heated rear window and rear door courtesy lights, but no reclining seats!) completed the deal.
Later cars, from 1970, had three speed automatics, power steering and a revised dashboard (and reclining seats!), but were still using the same engine, which was too large compared with its competitors, too heavy and without any sporting nature at all. It was after all a much altered derivative of the engine fitted to the E Series Cresta of 1952 and used extensively in Bedford vans also. Vauxhall produced a 2.6 litre version of this engine for some European markets, but the performance benefit over the Victor 2000 would have been minimal.
The Ventora, even with the 1970 modifications, was in reality rendered all but superfluous by the Victor’s sports derivative, the 2 litre, twin carburettor VX4/90, which cost 10% less and came with standard overdrive, a £75 option on the Ventora. The VX4/90 also missed out on some of the understeer that came as standard on the Ventora, as a consequence of the extra weight of the six cylinder engine over the front wheels.
Perhaps the best datum for a summary of the Ventora would be the Triumph 2000 and 2500 saloons, which had most of the image and position in the market Vauxhall were looking for. The 2000 was less powerful but cost £100 (around 10%) more; the 2500PI (with Lucas fuel injection) had more power, more prestige, better performance, economy (the Ventora struggled to get 20mpg) and handling for a small cost difference.
The Ventora concept was repeated in 1972 in the new, larger FE Series Victor, but that car soon found itself completely outsmarted by a pincer manoeuvre the Ford Cortina 2000E and the 1972 Ford Granada Ghia, truly Europe’s Brougham.
Over 8 years and two generations, Vauxhall sold 25,000 Ventoras, but it was replaced in 1976 by a Vauxhall VX2300GLS, with just equipment differences to the entry level cars. The performance gap was that close.
And we had the choice of an Audi 80 or BMW 320i as well.
What was the UK take rate on the Powerglide? And was it the aluminum version?
Closest American counterpart for size is the Chevy Nova, except for it having a very different target market. I have to ask: Would the Small Block have been a good fit?
Well, it certainly fitted, given a bit of work. Rover V8 was also a possible fit
That is interesting, 0-60 in ‘only’ 7.5 sec; perhaps the 175 tyres had something to do with that?
Most of the surviving Ventoras I’ve seen here in New Zealand have had Holden or Chev V8 engines fitted – making them faster and quite possibly more economical!
They weren’t particularly liked sadly. They were fitted to the Cresta & Viscount too (Vauxhall’s top of the line luxury barge at the time). Poor fuel economy and sluggish acceleration were to blame. They were switched to a 3 speed from around 1970. The small block would have been a perfect fit, and made the car a joy to drive. But having a V8 in a regular family car just doesn’t work in the U.K. Then or now sadly.
We’ll i disagree with you I add one and it was one of the best cars I ever owned economical wise for a big engine travelling I went all over Scotland with it in to Wales with it and over into Ireland with it and what our car you have to know a car to appreciate it sorry to disagree with you that’s how I feel
Serious good lookers, these. Styling was very much in the mid 60’s GM idiom, with the coke-bottle fenders, and all the details are right. Could you get the luxury touches on the VX4/90 as well? If not, they’d have done well to make that an option.
Actually it somehow seems a whole lot closer to Ford style. Of course, a lot of cross pollination, but if this was labeled “Ford” I would have thought “obviously.”
I don’t think prominently including “lazy” in the advertising copy was a good move though.
The FD Victor/Ventora styling predated the MK 3 Cortina by 2 yea
rs. Ford copied GM.
So you Brits went for vinyl roof glory also I see. Of
all the questionable styling traits we had over here, I figured the vinyl roof was the one least likely to take hold over there. At least this one looks re-done. It actually looks a little nicer than the rest of the car. And I’m still on my quest for a American market 1970 Cortina.
Oh, no. The British went to vinyl roofs in a big way during the ’70s when it was necessary to give some cheap car the pretense of luxury.
Yes, we liked the vinyl roof – all the mainstream makers (Ford, BL, Vauxhall and Rootes) used it somewhere, and Rover and Triumph used it to cover B abd C pillars. Jaguar used it on the XJ-C as well, possibly to cover some seams and lead filling.
My father had a P6 Rover 3500S with a full vinyl roof. This had been glued down in the most rudimentary fashion, so that after a fast run on the motorway it filled up with air and inflated like giant balloon. Took about 15 minutes to return to its original profile after we stopped.
I’ve seen that on Detroit products as well. Another thing that can go wrong.
An acronym still neglected by industry & consumers alike: K.I.S.S. = “Keep It Simple, Stupid.” William of Ockham was perhaps its originator, in a different context.
The vinyl roof was an aesthetic holdover from the prewar era when many prestige cars had soft tops & Landau Bars, in turn a holdover from horse-drawn carriages. This might explain why it was not just an American thing; I think Europe simply abandoned them earlier, for Europe seems to have faster “turnover” in certain areas of fashion & design.
The only argument in its favor was slightly less cabin noise, hardly worth it in sunny areas where any hydrocarbon compound is degraded by UV exposure. I was a contrarian & never liked them, mostly for this reason.
Yep. Plenty of Rolls Royces had vinyl roofs. And Marinas and Allegros.
I think the vinyl roof era was over here by about 1981, but I seem to recall some circa 1988 Lada Rivas & Skoda Estelles had them, probably slapped on by the importer, together with a bunch of other cheapo accessories.
I’m wondering what the last car sold in the US with a vinyl roof as a factory option would be. The final B-body Roadmaster and Fleetwood in ’96 come to mind, but it wouldn’t surprise me to find one later. I know I’ve seen plenty of Lincoln Town Cars and various Cadillacs of later manufacture with vinyl or “cabriolet” roofs, but I’m unsure if those were factory options or simply popular dealer add-ons due to the older, more “traditional” clientele that bought such cars new.
Nothing escaped from the vinyl roof treatment in the seventies. For that Vintage DeLuxe-feeling !
Oh dear.
I had an FSO 125p & Ford Cortina Mk4 with full vinyl roofs & a Sunbeam Rapier with vinyl C pillars which always reminded me of a bald man with sideburns
I confess to having owned an Austin miniMtero with a biege vinyl roof added by a dealer, and still have a photo somewhere.
Feeling better now, confession is good etc…does a COAL do that as well?
It is hard to imagine today an automaker putting so much unique in a model that would sell just 3000 units per year.
In the UK anyway.
My question is whether many Vauxhalls were exported. Canada got a handful but with Opel doing business on the continent, did GM market its British line head to head against them?
Later, just as Ford did, GM basically turned Vauxhall into right-hand-drive Opel, with a common product line. And in that case, if you wanted a Vauxhall on the continent, you just bought an Opel.
Stellantis now is responsible for the two marques, a transaction that had not yet occurred when this article was posted. With their dizzying array of brands, do they continue with this redundancy?
At that time (late ’60s/early ’70s) Vauxhalls were also sold in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Sweden and Switzerland.
… and in Israel, although with import duty and tax being what they were the Ventora was almost as expensive as an entry level Chevrolet which would have been the preferred option, hence very few, if any were sold there.
Stellantis, for now, continue with rebadging Opels as Vauxhalls for the UK market only. To be fair, with Vauxhall as a brand being ever present in the lives of every Brit, getting rid of it and replacing with Opel would be a hell of a gamble.
Just as an aside, Vauxhall and Opel were sold side by side in the UK up to the late 80s, with the Opel Manta and, I believe, the option to purchase other RHD Opel badged cars.
Since coming to CC, the number of cars I have never heard of at all has dwindled to a very small number. And today you presented another of them. Wow, I had no idea that these existed. Fascinating stuff.
And what a concept: a Lazy Fireball. That tagline alone was likely responsible for the car’s lack of popularity. If you want a fireball, don’t you want one that is on the job and ready to do its thing for you? And if lazy is your thing, you most likely don’t want a fireball at all.
Last thought – in profile, the car looks oddly like an American Ford Maverick or even a bit like a German Ford Capri would look with some extra doors.
I thought the same thing about the tagline – who wants a “Lazy Fireball?” “Lazy” isn’t a word that I would use to describe a new car in an advertisement.
Looking at the third picture, my thought was that the Ventora looks like a smaller version of a full-size 1965 Chevrolet sedan – particularly the inward slope of the roof pillar, the “ridge” along the upper body sides, and the kick-up of the rear door belt line. In some ways, that car looks better than the late 1960s Nova sedan that we did get, even though our Nova was also a handsome car.
+1. Scaled-down version of a ’65 Chevrolet: 100% on-point.
And to JPC’s point, I feel I have learned more about new-to-me cars on this site in two years than in the five-to-ten years prior.
Great post, Roger.
Maybe I should have read the rest of the comments before adding mine above with the repost exactly six years later. I was thinking more like some intermediate or full sized Ford or Mercury with the crease down the side in about the same place as on this.
Maybe a stylist or two transferred from Ford to GM. Or just the usual copying.
I’m with you on all points.
Regarding the Maverick resemblance, this picture does it for me. If I glanced at it without studying it, it practically screams “old lady’s (’70s) Ford Maverick that belongs at the Piggly Wiggly”.
It looks a lot like the Cortina Mk. III, from the rear looking to the front.
The front clip resembles a Holden.
Both Holden and Ford aped the Victor shape the Cortina MK2 is the contemporary of the FD the MK3 arrived after FD production ended.
A neighbour had an FD Victor (ultra-rare in Australia, I know; his uncle was a great Vauxhall fan!) when I had my Cortina. The Victor certainly looked a larger car; it was a foot longer with three inches more wheelbase, which kind of makes me wonder whether buyers would have perceived it as being in a different class to the Cortina.
Mk3 appeared in 1970. FD went on until 1972
This similarity was pointed out in press reports when the FD was first announced. Actually I think the Victor was the better-looking car (although the Cortina Mk III looked pretty good in two-door form, particularly without the vinyl roof).
Thank you for another fine read Roger. Nice cars, Dad had an FE Ventora after his Allegro disaster.
Got to give your Dad marks for effort!
NZ had a unique version of these cars the Victor 3300SL which was the plain Jane Victor with none of the Ventora trimmings but with the 3.3 litre motor and four speed box it was a successful race and rally car in its day and quite popular, Ventoras are rare here as they came in fully built up privately imported but the 3.3 Victor was fairly common, many were repowered with Holden or Chevrolet V8s and proved to be quite a weapon on drag strips, no powerglide versions were offered by GM NZ.Ours also ran the Velox/Cresta diff heads so gearing was not low 117mph out of the packet light fast and fun.
Interesting look at the Ventora and its’ place in the market. I thought they were very handsome, as was the Victor, but I remember a friend bought a new Ventora to replace a Mk 2 Lotus Cortina and wished he hadn’t. It wasn’t just the dynamics that upset him – the car was far from trouble-free.
The rims on the pale blue car look like they were stolen from a Ford Capri.
Did Vauxhall & Ford Europe share vendors or is there a 69 Capri on blocks in Derbyshire, England??? 😉 😉
They’re Rostyle wheels, supplied by a company called Rubery Owen (RO-style). They appeared on several makes of British cars, including MG, Rover, Ford, Jensen, etc.
They were patterned after American Magnum 500 wheels that appeared on our muscle cars but were of British manufacture.
Rostyles were a true style icon at this time. Almost every UK brand had them, and “Rostyle wheels” was commonly highlighted feature on a Cortina/Capri/Escort/hunter/Avenger/Marina/Dolomite/Rover P6/Viva/Victor/MG.
Deserving of a CC in their own right
I agree with JPC: “Lazy Fireball” sounds almost oxymoronic. Here’s one for Americans: Sluggish Hot Rod, as the caption under the brand new 1964 Pontiac GTO?
Ford would “tart-up” the compact Maverick in a similar fashion to the Cortina 1600E, but it would take until 1973 for the suits at Ford U.S. to try it.
Actually the LDO package you speak of came out mid year 72. I have seen one about 15 years ago. It first shows up in the Jan 72 brochure revision. For the first three months of production it came with C78 14 bias belted white wall tires before switching to the DR78 14 white wall radials.
I have the earliest introductory literature on the LDO, and all of them mention radials as standard. Our ‘ 72Comet LDO actually came with ER70-14 BF Goodrich tires.
Yes, the Comet one does, the Maverick does not. I have both. In a hour I’ll post photos.
Jan. 72 sales brochure.
March 1972 price list.
Hmm..Interesting
I still maintain that this brochure is early enough that the cars never actually went into production with these specs. I base this on the mention of “slimline high back seats” I have never seen any LDO Maverick with seats other than the Euro-Ford sourced reclining units, and that was even before I began paying attention to them after my parents bought one in Aug ’72. These LDOs started turning up in the streets of my town in Spring ’72, and caught my eye immediately because of that interior.
Also, even as a kid I knew how to spot radial tires, and never saw one without them.
Disregard last post, I now see the seat thing is unrelated to the LDO
It’s possible the Comet LDO’s might have come with the radial tires and not the Maverick. These are the tire options for both from the Sept. 71 “Car Buying Made Easier” book. As you can see, before the LDO package DR78 14 tires were available on the Comet but not the Maverick.
Comet.
Even interestinger. FWIW the ’73 CBME book lists the Comet Custom opt
at $346.27. That means darn near half of the price was for the tires alone.
Made it quite a bargain in my mind.
Kinda reminds me of a Buick – Opel Cadet & a “65 Chevrolet Corvair (all at the same time)? If they got together,and had a kid,this was probably the result. I kinda like it.
‘Lazy fireball’ was meant to refer to the way the power was available at low revs. By way of comparison the VX4/90 twin carb. 2 litre version produced a maximum of 104hp at 5600rpm and the maximum torque of 117lb.st at 3400rpm while the 3.3 litre Ventora knocked out 20 more hp at 4600rpm and 174 lb.ft at only 2400rpm (in both cases 1000 less rpm than the VX4/90). Not that the VX4/90 was available when the Ventora was first produced, so the difference compared to the standard Victor 2000 was more marked.
I suspect the Ventora might have been something of a stop-gap model given the OHC slant 4 was originally meant to have spawned a V8; that would have been the obvious choice for the more powerful versions of the abandoned PD Crest/aViscount programme, but would have doubtless also fitted under the FD (and FE) bonnet quite comfortably. A straight six isn’t exactly short!
I do like the ‘toothy’ grille which almost seems to reference the early Corvettes.
I’m wondering how much that stillborn Vauxhall OHC V8 would have weighed, and the impact that would have had on handling. You’d need power steering, for sure!
“the US market Envoy”
The Envoy was sold by Chevrolet dealers in Canada, not the U.S. The Envoy existed because Vauxhall Victors were sold in Canada through Pontiac dealers, and there was a longstanding practice in Canada that if Chevrolet dealers had a particular car to sell, Pontiac dealers had to have an equivalent model, and vice versa.
In the U.S., Vauxhall Victors were sold through Pontiac dealers for a period of about five years in the late ’50s and early ’60s, but were not strong sellers, and were discontinued while the FB series was in production, several years before the FD series featured in this article. The Envoy was never sold in the U.S.
The smaller Vauxhall Viva was sold in Canada, and it also had an Envoy-badged equivalent, called the Envoy Epic. Vauxhall was gone from the U.S. market before the Viva was introduced, so it was never sold in the U.S.
And what steaming turds they were. Then the Firenza showed up, with extra “coils”.
Very interesting profile of an odd duck. Small wonder it didn’t sell well… It’s a handsome car though, and demonstrated GM’s styling leadership of the time. Shame GM didn’t adopt this design and build it stateside for a small Chevrolet. Done right, these might have squashed the Japanese invaders in the crib in the late 1960s.
Wonder how it would have gone with a Chevrolet 250?
fantastic looking car. I wonder what relationship if any there was with the concurrent Rekord/Commodore under the skin.
None at this generation but the Victor FE and Rekord D shared a floorpan
Great capsule on a practically-extinct car Roger. Has been years, probably decades, since I saw an FD Victor, let alone a Ventora.
They are around Scott I saw a FD 2.0 at the Howick British European car show last year, but certainly not in the numbers they used to be Ventoras were never sold in NZ but FD Victors were very popular and a 3.3 Victor won the B&H 500 endurance race at Pukekohe so enough were built for homologation as a NZ model.