Vauxhall Cresta
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The Vauxhall Cresta was probably the most elegant British car of the late 1950s even though it was not sufficiently upmarket for it to be driven by those that considered themselves the elite of British society. Rock stars could drive them; barristers and doctors would not. This was ironic, because Queen Elizabeth II for many years actually used station wagon versions as personal transport.
Ironically, by American standards, it was very much a base model. No V8 version or pillarless hard tops were ever made, but a station wagon was.
The Cresta models were the E (1955-1957), PA (1957-1962), PB (1962-1965) and PC (1966-1972). The PA Cresta (pictured) is probably the most well-known today. It mimicked the American fashion for giant tailfins, wrap-around windows and whitewall tyres but in a relatively understated way compared to the Cadillacs and Buicks of the time. In fact, it bears an uncanny resemblance to a 1955 Packard Caribbean. The PA model pictured was from 1962.
The PB was a major styling revision, completely eliminating the tail fins, with a flat bonnet (hood) and generally more conservative styling. It initially featured a 2.6 litre straight-six engine, with a 3.3 litre in its last year of production.
The last of the series, the PC, was a different car, larger and styled with the coke-bottle look introduced with the FD Victor series. It was very similar to the Australian Holden HR, and featured the 3.3 litre straight-six engine for its entire 3-year production run. A more luxurious version was also sold as the Vauxhall Viscount.
During the 1970s many PA Crestas were modified and customised, and the model was very popular with fifties revivalists; many were driven by teddy boys and were very much seen as part of the rock 'n' roll image. A PA Cresta features in the 1981 video for Ghost Town by The Specials. The band are also wearing 50s style clothing in the video.
Today the PA Cresta is a recognised classic, with the other variants perhaps less appreciated but gaining recognition. One famous PA owner in the late 1950s was Don Lang.
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