Cars that brought their makers back from the brink

[HICHEM]

Vauxhall Cavalier: 1975-81
General Motor’s British arm was in decline in the mid-1970s until the Cavalier turned up to give the Ford Cortina a serious run for its money. Billed as ‘the power you want, the economy you need and at a price you’ll like’, the Cavalier was all that and more. It handled well thanks to sharing much of its suspension and chassis with the Opel Manta, while a range of four-cylinder engines provided anything from frugal 1.3 to peppy 2.0-litre units.

In the UK, 238,980 Cavaliers were sold and many were built in Luton to appeal to a patriotic streak in their drivers. It set Vauxhall back on course in the all-important fleet sector and the name enjoyed two decades of success until it was replaced by the Vectra.