Half day - Vauxhall appreciation

 On our way. 

We set off on our second half-day, which turned out to be nearly a full day in blistering heat, and arrived at a large complex Mountain Resort and Spa. We have probably doubled the number of guests and yet they must have more than 300 rooms. Who comes here and when, if not now? It is a ski resort; we are at 1700m and apart from an indoor pool, there doesn’t appear to be much going on.  After a couple of restorative beers and a salad (alright, I had the hamburger) a well-tuned team of professional car mechanics set about swapping the wheels on the Vauxhall. She, yes, ‘she’, has been wobbling and it is driving me mad. It has caused the brake and clutch pedals to resonate, rattle and roll and I can take it no more. So we’ll see if swapping things around a bit helps. There were a couple of absences from the F1 tyre team and I shall be keeping a close eye on their commitment to the greater cause over the next few days. See Instagram for details (theultimateoverland). 

Presumably this means ‘bears are cuddly and need feeding’

Ski resorts look desolate in summer. 

On a quiet day, I wondered if you’d be amused to learn a bit of history about the cars. 

Naturally, we’ll start with the Vauxhall. As any VSCC member will attest, the 30/98 is the ‘finest sporting car ever made’. The car was originally designed in 1913; WW1 delayed its development. My car was built 100 years ago in 1925.

I simply leave you to read two extracts from period articles. 

"In a manner not quite attained by any other car the 30-98 h.p. Vauxhall appeals to the sporting instinct. It offers in the skilful handling of a refined powerful machine that exhilarating pleasure which is the essence of sport. Its performance is a constant source of delight to those who have a predilection for mechanical ingenuity. This interest, the fascination of swift, silent motion, and the zest of road mastery, make driving a pure joy, with which perhaps

there is nothing comparable in any other open-air pursuit." Extract from Vauxhall Motors catalogue c1920

“The Vauxhall 30/98 represents vintage motoring at its best and there is a very genuine enthusiasm among the owners. In the early days of the Vintage Sports Car Club there was a story about a 30/98 owner who was fined by the police when all he was doing was bidding good morning to another 30/98 owner coming the other way. The trouble was he was standing on the seat raising his hat in a gentlemanly manner.”Extract: Motorsport 1980

On another quiet day we’ll discuss the Rolls and Lagonda cars.