Meet The Owner - Siôn Hudson and his Vauxhall Cavalier L Mk. II

Once familiar, cars often undergo a seven-stage cycle. Firstly, they are launched with maximum fanfare before entering the second stage of their middle years. Next comes the last-of-the-line special editions, intended to clear showrooms for its replacement, followed by twilight in used-car listings.

The fifth stage is the most dangerous to their survival rate – the Auto Trader or Exchange & Mart ‘bargain’. By now, the prices are so low that they attract buyers, typically named Gaz, Baz, or Daz, who blow up the engine in their second year of ownership and leave the remains at the side of the A27.

However, the sixth stage has various motorists wondering, “When did I last see an X, Y or Z?” which leads to the vital seventh stage – preserving the survivors. We recently featured the 1980 Ford Fiesta 1100L Mk. I owned by Siôn Hudson, but his collection includes many other once-familiar cars, including a trio of Volvo 300s. So, naturally, he was lured by the siren call of this 1982 Cavalier’s Donegal Tweed Cloth upholstery.

The Cavalier Mk. II is also a crucial model in Vauxhall history, and at its launch on the 23^rd September 1981, some dealers would be forgiven for being nervous. After all, this was only the second Griffin-badged FWD product – the Astra in 1979 was the first – at a time when the proudly conventional Ford Cortina Mk. V dominated fleet markets. Meanwhile, private buyers were reassured by this commercial promoting front-wheel-drive and strongly hinting at the charisma a Cavalier could bestow upon the owner -

Such worries proved groundless, and Car magazine thought the Cavalier Mk. II set standards “which are bound to challenge every rival designer and engineer”. In 1983, Motor noted the Mk2 was the first car in its class “to put a significant dent in the Ford Cortina’s British sales figures”. By the following year, the Cavalier was the UK’s second bestselling car.

Siôn only recently became the second owner of the Vauxhall he describes as “fantastically preserved”, down to the dealer’s rustproofing decal in the rear screen. As an ‘L’, it also possesses those luxuries that help to distinguish it from lesser Cavaliers: “deep loop-pile carpeting”, the “quartz-activated clock”, and the “illuminated cigar lighter”.

Perhaps the most appealing aspect of Siôn’s China Blue Cavalier is how it evokes a time of Harry Fenton suit jackets hanging from the coat hook, an executive briefcase on the rear seat and a tin of travel sweets in the glove box. All this plus that push-button radio with “Built in twin speakers” to listen to David Hamilton en route to your next sales appointment.

With Thanks To: Siôn Hudson