Viva Las Vauxhall

It was not what you might expect: In 1960s America, General Motors was experimental and unorthodox, its first generation of compacts including Chevrolet’s air-cooled, rear-engine Corvair and Pontiac’s “rope drive”Tempest, while overseas in England, the contemporary compact Viva from GM’s Vauxhall division was Ford Falcon-like in its rote conventionality.

But that British compact proved just what its market wanted, and would become a popular best seller that endured through three generations and 16 years. We’ve spent time with a 45-year-old survivor now living in the U.S., learned the model’s history from fans in the home market, and discovered how, despite some challenges, this was the right car for its time.