Remember when the Vauxhall Belmont was Britain’s most stolen car?
Car thieves. You’ve got to hand it to them – they know a desirable Shatchback when they see one. So much so that, in 2003, the Vauxhall Belmont was the most stolen car in Britain.
You can also hand car thieves a long custodial sentence, but that’s another story.
The targeting of the ageing Vauxhall Belmont is unlikely to warrant a chapter in the Big Book of British Car History, but it deserves a slot on PetrolBlog.
Were the ne’er-do-wells after the Belmont for its whippet-like pace, first class accommodation and stylish good looks?
After all, at its launch in 1986, Vauxhall drew comparisons with ‘the bygone days of travel’, presenting the Astra saloon as some kind of luxury Grand Tourer.
“Laden or unladen, the Belmont, like the Blue Riband liners of yesteryear, combines an uncommon level of comfort with a rare turn of speed,” said Vauxhall, optimistically. “Why not book yourself a maiden voyage?” it asked.
Later advertisements would pitch ‘Belmont Class’ alongside First Class, Business Class and Club Class airline travel. Lofty ambitions for a three-box Astra.
Let’s take a ride
It kind of worked. Nearly 50,000 Belmonts were sold between 1986 and 1991, which justified its existence as a standalone model. Back then, Shatchbacks had their own badges: the Belmont was to the Astra what the Orion was to the Escort and the Jetta was to the Golf.
There was a Belmont to suit all corners of suburbia, from the poverty-spec L for the end-of-terrace to the ambassadorial CD (Corps Diplomatique) for the four-bed-detached. Monsieur, with this three-box luxury saloon you’re really spoiling us.
That’s not all, because there was even a sporty Belmont SRi, a kind of Diet Coke version of the full-fat GTE. Kleenex tissues, tins of travel sweets and National Trust stickers had never travelled at such velocity.
Sadly, the Belmont’s fall from grace was almost as rapid, helped in no small part by the criminal underworld. In 2003, the Home Office named it the most stolen car in Britain, with 99 stolen per 1,000 registered.
Run with the dogs tonight
That year, there were 7,291 Belmonts registered in Britain. By 2004, the number had fallen to 3,932. Today, the number stands at 50.
The usual problems of rust, mechanical failure and this country’s irrational desire for shiny new things are the factors behind the Belmont’s downfall, but joy-riders played their part. If a Belmont wasn’t burning on the Blackbird Leys estate in Oxford, it was wrapped around a tree on the outer ring road.
The Belmont was a victim of the industry’s crackdown on car crime. Technology had made it “virtually impossible to steal a new car without access to the correct keys”, said the chief executive of the SMMT at the time, which meant that old Vauxhalls and Fords became the default choice for joy-riders armed with little more than a screwdriver and a coat hanger.
Sixteen years on, the Belmont is no less difficult to steal, but the keyless car theft ‘epidemic‘ has turned the SMMT’s quote on its head. Who needs car keys when a car can be driven away using a relay device? Progress, what progress?
Time has been kind to the Vauxhall Belmont. Far from looking like a lazy booted version of the Astra hatchback, the Belmont has the whiff of a junior executive version of the Cavalier. No wonder the joy-riders of the housing estates of Britain took such a shine to it.
Today’s criminals target the likes of the Volkswagen Golf R, BMW X5 and Mercedes-Benz GLE. Proof, if proof were needed, that everything was better in the old days. Even stolen motors.
8 Comments
A work colleague back then had an SRi version which he refused to drive, probably because it was a replacement for one he had wrapped around a tree himself thus depriving the South Devon joyriders the infinite pleasure of doing the same themselves but also because his insurance premium sky-rocketed so it stayed home all the time!
I wonder how many warm and hot cars of the 80s and 90s are still languishing in Devon and Cornwall hedgerows?!
The SRi was unnervingly fast and seemed to be out of control at times, highly powerful and highly geared, it was a car that needed great resolve and control to drive. Similar to a Cavalier SRi which I once had as a loan car, unnerving man, hard work, but super fast.
I own one of the few Vauxhall Bemont’s left on the road. A CD with just over 85000 miles. It brings me endless joy, and lives safely in the garage. I haven’t seen another for years!
Good man, Gary. The CD means you’re living the Belmont dream. Do email a pic if you get a chance.
We owned the first Vauxhall Belmont introduced in the country, in fact the white one which figured in the Vauxhall advert. Took delivery on 15 January 1986 from Lisles Of Knebworth, near Stevenage, Herts. This was one of the best ever dealership experiences we had, with everything done to perfection. They couldn’t do enough to make us feel special.
The motor itself was made by Adam Opel AG and said so on the engine bay plate. It was a well made, loyal to the last breath, spacious car which had the best rear seat back dropping set up for long items, and the car became a virtual van if needed.
Miss it so much, sold it after three years when my employer gave a company car.
Lovely car indeed. Kids loved it too.
LOL
Back in the 90’s I used to ‘recover’ (sometimes with thier new ‘owners’ still inside) dozens upon dozens of stolen cars (or TWOC’ed motors) as we used to say 30 years ago.
Fast Vauxhalls and VW’s were so often stolen that in parts of the North they were called weekend taxis – often lads needing to get home after a night out would simply pop open a door (or window), remove the ignition cowling, pull the steering lock / ignition barrel down, insert a universal key (a screwdriver), and away they went (either back to the estate they came from or the school playing field near the estate they came from after a bit of off roading).
Other times they would simply go for a ‘Joy Ride’ (is that term still used now, 30 years later?)
In my experience the most commonly nicked cars were SRi or GSi baged Vauxhalls and any hot VW. Fast Fords were a distant 3rd as thier owners would more often be a more street wise and lock the steering with a big fat steel stoplock or similar, unless it was a Saffire Cosworth. For some reason Saffire Cosworth owners did not take precautions like an XR3 or RS escort owner would.
bad
Short term thefts for friday night taxi duty or ‘Joy Riding’ of Vauxhalls were so bad (expenentionally bad when the Calibra came out!) that many were simply returned to thier owners the next day or a few days later without being recorded as TWOC’ed – especially if the only (visible) damage was the ignition cowling.
This suited everone – the owner, the Bill, the Insurance company.
Back in the 90’s it was estimated that most (yes shockingly) GSi 4×4 Cavaliers, most SRI badged Cavaliers, and just about 9 out of 10 Calibras had been ‘borrowed’ at some point. As most got returned to thier owners within a day or 4, often with only light damage (visible) many owners did not want to make an insurance claim or record the vehicle as ‘Stolen recovered’. They would often just replace the ignition barrel, add the new key to the key ring, and sell the car. It was not uncommon to recover the same car multiple times over the months / years and return it to different owners.
If anyone finds a classic fast Vauxhall or VW from the late 80’s through to the mid 90’s still on the road, and feel like parting with some cash for it (for old times sake) they should check for hidden damage – its likely been bounced and ragged accross a few school fields and down a few few park footpaths in its past, with half a dozen lads in it – and its likely the real reason a few of the 6, 7, 8 or more previous recorded owners got rid back then.
Oh, the good olds days of the universal key and the fast vauxhall ………………………..
Love this response – thanks for taking the time to comment. It’s like an article in itself!
NINETY PERCENT of Calibras had been ‘borrowed’ at some point – that’s quite a figure. There’s a feature in that.
Thanks again for the comment.