The Vauxhall Carlton is an executive car produced by Vauxhall in the United Kingdom from 1978 to 1994. The automotive industry is the industry involved in the design development manufacture marketing and sale of Motor vehicles In 2007 more than 73 million motor vehicles Adam Opel GmbH (commonly known as Opel) is a German automaker part of General Motors. The Vauxhall Victor is a medium/large model of automobile produced by Vauxhall Motors, the British subsidiary of General Motors from 1957 to 1976 There was also an Oldsmobile Omega, an unrelated vehicle that was produced during the 1970s and 1980s The Opel Omega was an Executive car Car classification is subjective since many vehicles fall into multiple categories or do not fit well into any Executive car is a British term that refers to a car's size and is used to describe an Automobile larger than a Large family car. Cars can come in a large variety of different body styles. Some are still in production while others are of historical interest only A station wagon (or simply wagon) in American, Australian, Canadian and New Zealand usage and an estate car (or just estate In Automotive design layout specifies where on the car the Engine and Drive wheels are found The Opel Rekord is a Family car which was built in several generations by the German car manufacturer Opel, latterly a subsidiary of General Executive car is a British term that refers to a car's size and is used to describe an Automobile larger than a Large family car. Vauxhall Motors is a British automobile company It is a subsidiary of General Motors Corporation (GM and is part of GM Europe. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located

Mark I (1978–86)

Vauxhall Carlton Mark I, pre-facelift

Vauxhall Carlton Mark I estate

The first Vauxhall Carlton was introduced in the autumn of 1978 as a replacement for the ageing VX1800/VX2000 saloons. The Vauxhall Victor is a medium/large model of automobile produced by Vauxhall Motors, the British subsidiary of General Motors from 1957 to 1976 Based on the Opel Rekord, but with Vauxhall's typical "droop snoot" front end that featured no traditional grille, it was a traditional large saloon or estate with rear-wheel drive and a spacious, comfortable interior and was available in "L" trim only. The Opel Rekord is a Family car which was built in several generations by the German car manufacturer Opel, latterly a subsidiary of General Power came from a 2. 0 litre carburettor petrol engine which gave reasonable performance, refinement and economy. A carburetor (North American spelling or carburettor ( Commonwealth spelling) is a device that blends air and Fuel for an Internal A Petrol engine or Gasoline engine is an Internal combustion engine with spark-ignition designed to run on petrol ( Gasoline) and similar volatile There were some impressive options available, including central door locking, alloy wheels and electric windows, which in the late 1970s were relatively plush equipment on mainstream cars.

Relationship with other models

Lengthened, more powerful models, based on the Carlton and Rekord, were also available. Positioned directly above them was the Vauxhall Viceroy which also sold as the Opel Commodore, and above that the Opel Senator and Opel Monza (a coupé derivative) which also sold as the Vauxhall Royale and Vauxhall Royale Coupé, although the Opel versions, particularly of the coupé, were more common even in the UK. The Opel Commodore was an Executive car produced by General Motors German Subsidiary Opel. The Opel Commodore was an Executive car produced by General Motors German Subsidiary Opel. The Opel Senator was a large motor car, two generations of which were sold in Europe by the German General Motors subsidiary Opel The Opel Senator was a large motor car, two generations of which were sold in Europe by the German General Motors subsidiary Opel The Opel Senator was a large motor car, two generations of which were sold in Europe by the German General Motors subsidiary Opel The Opel Senator was a large motor car, two generations of which were sold in Europe by the German General Motors subsidiary Opel

Facelift

Vauxhall Carlton Mark I after facelift, 1983-85

A facelift for the 1983 model year saw the disappearance of the droop snoot front, in favour of a more traditional (though still angled) grille shared with the equivalent Opel. The model year of a product is a number used to describe approximately when a product was produced This also marked the end of UK sale of the Opel Rekord as the Opel brand was being phased out in the UK. The 1983 facelift also saw the introduction of a wider engine range consisting of a 1. 8 L carburettor, 2. 0 L carburettor and 2. 3 L diesel. A wider range of trim levels consisting of "L", "GL" and "CD" were also introduced at this time. A 2. 0 L fuel injection engine was introduced for the 1984 model year and was replaced by a 2. Fuel injection is a system for mixing fuel with air in an Internal combustion engine. 2 L fuel injection engine for 1985.

Mark II (1986–94)

The Mark II looked similar to the contemporary Opel Omega pictured here

Opel chose the replacement Rekord to rename its car in this segment the Omega rather than the Rekord. Vauxhall stayed with the Carlton name. On its launch at the end of 1986 the Vauxhall Carlton saloon and estate range earned itself the accolade of European Car of the Year. Car of the Year is a phrase usually considered to have been invented by Motor Trend magazine in the 1950s for their annual award for best automobile

Relationship with other models

Again there was a lengthened version of the Carlton (and Omega), this time known in both Opel and Vauxhall forms by the same name: Senator. The Opel Senator was a large motor car, two generations of which were sold in Europe by the German General Motors subsidiary Opel

In the spring of 1994, Vauxhall scrapped the Carlton nameplate, but the name of its Opel equivalent, the Omega, lived on, as it was applied to the Carlton's replacement. At which point the Vauxhall equivalent adopted the name change (a drive towards uniformity was taking place throughout the range) and so the Carlton's replacement was sold as the Vauxhall Omega.

Mark II engine line-up

New to the Carlton's line-up with the Mark II were two straight-6 engines with 2. The straight-6 or inline-6 engine (often abbreviated I6 or L6) is a six cylinder Internal combustion engine with all six cylinders 6 and 3. 0 litres. Originally, these were 12-valve engines, but later models offered a 24-valve version producing much more power and torque. As well, Vauxhall used the "Dual-Ram" intake manifold, which lets the car breathe as 2 3-cylinder engines below 4000 rpm, but changes the intake manifold profile at 4000 rpm to increase the runner length, thus increasing total engine output.

Special Lotus version

In 1990, Vauxhall launched a high performance 377 bhp (281 kW) Lotus Carlton in collaboration with Lotus Cars. The Lotus Carlton (in mainland Europe the Lotus Omega) was a Vauxhall Carlton saloon upgraded by Lotus Cars to be a 177 mph (285 kph sports Lotus Cars is a British manufacturer of sports and racing cars based at Hethel, Norfolk, England. (An Opel version was also produced as the Lotus Omega. ) It was built with a 3615 cc six-cylinder twin-turbo engine (designated C36GET) capable of over 176 mph (283 km/h), making it officially (for the time) the fastest full four seater that had ever been made. It cost £48,000 — well over double the price of a standard Carlton. As a result, Vauxhall's original plans to sell about 1,000 in the UK ended in 440 UK cars being sold. For those with less money there was the 3000GSi 24v, with a top speed of nearly 150 mph (240 km/h).

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