Vauxhall Chevette - Development

Development

The Chevette was designed to fit into the Vauxhall range below the Viva, and was initially presented as a hatchback, a style that soared in popularity during the 1970s. The Chevette was the first British-built hatchback of this size, with Ford not responding with a similar product until the following year.

Sales began on 1 May 1975, from a price of £1,593.

From 1975 until 1978, the Chevette was the UK's best selling hatchback as UK branded rivals failed to respond to the challenge of the imported Peugeot 104, Fiat 127 and Renault 5 until the arrival of Ford's Fiesta at the end of 1976. Chrysler UK did not launch its Chrysler Sunbeam for two years, while it was five years before British Leyland came up with the Austin Metro.

The Chevette had an appeal with younger drivers due to its size, good looks and performance. Although the Chevette had a small engine, it was perfectly capable of sprightly performance. The Chevette had a light steering, clutch and gearchange, as well as good visibility and was spacious inside. The Chevette's success was probably due to its versatility. It was available in three-door hatchback for the single driver, and saloon models which suited families, and estate.

It was launched in the UK using Vauxhall's slogan and musical 'jingle': "It's whatever you want it to be! - A sporty coupe, a family saloon, a handy estate...". It was made at the purpose built factory in Ellesmere Port, Merseyside, under a government initiative to bring employment to the area.

More conventional 2- and 4-door saloons, and 3-door estate variants (essentially the Opel Kadett with Vauxhall front sheetmetal and engines) were also offered from June 1976.

The Viva remained on sale until the end of 1979, when the Opel Kadett D-based Vauxhall Astra was launched, while the Chevette remained on sale until 1984, itself being replaced by the slightly smaller Vauxhall Nova that was launched in 1983, with Chevette production being reduced in November 1981, when Astra production was moved to the Ellesmere Port factory.

This longevity led to the Chevette being exported to Germany after 1979, following the discontinuation of the Kadett C; here the Chevette was an unusual small car in that it still featured rear wheel drive. A further 12,332 of the cars were sold as Opels in Germany where with effect from October 1980 the car was badged as the Opel Chevette. By this time, it was the only Vauxhall badged car to be sold in markets such as Mauritius and New Zealand: successor models assembled in the UK for sale in mainland Europe, such as the Astra, have been badged as Opels.

A van version, based on the estate and called the Bedford Chevanne was also built, and badged as part of GM's Bedford commercial vehicles marque.

Although the Chevette was largely a rebadged Opel Kadett C with revised front-end (detailed below), it did use the 1256 cc overhead valve (OHV) engine of the Viva instead of the Kadett's units, which were produced by Opel. The Kadett's double wishbone front suspension, rear-wheel drive and rear suspension with Panhard rod, torque tube and coil sprung live axle were carried over unaltered. Inside, the two cars differed only in terms of their dashboard and switchgear: the Chevette stuck to the British & Japanese right-hand drive tradition of having the indicator switch on the right-hand side of the steering column, while the Kadett had the mainland European left-hand drive custom of the flasher stalk being on the left. The Chevette also had a much more angular instrument binnacle, although the instrumentation within was similar (though in imperial rather than metric measurements).

The Chevette's front end featured a more aerodynamic-looking nose treatment than the Kadett, based loosely on the design of the "droopsnoot" Firenza. In contrast the Kadett had a more conventional flat-fronted design. In 1980, the Chevette underwent a facelift with flush fitting headlights, giving it a "family look" alongside the larger Vauxhall Cavalier. It also received new wheel designs, revised C-pillar vent covers and revamped interior trim with re-designed front seats to increase rear knee room marginally. However, it was effectively the beginning of a phase-out in favour of the newer Astra, Vauxhall's version of the front wheel drive Kadett, which was launched in January 1980.

Production finally finished in January 1984, approximately one year after the launch of the Spanish-built Nova. 415,000 Chevettes were sold in Britain.