The Singer Vogue was the more upmarket version of the Hillman Superminx – the Riley 4/72 to the Superminx, or the Oldsmobile to the Hillman’s Chevrolet, if you like. Sales were always lower than the Superminx, and sales of estate version were always a small minority. Published numbers show that there are around 35 Vogues from 1965 of all types still registered in the UK. From 1963, there are around 45 remaining.
So, to see 3 examples of the estate lined up together is quite an unlikely event. The car in the centre is the 1963 series II car with the earlier roofline but otherwise pretty similar to the 1965 cars on either side. Given my personal fondness for the Superminx and its derivatives, to see a Singer Vogue is always noteworthy; to see 3 together even better and for the 3 to be estates makes this one of my personal highlights the sights of the car show season of 2013. And of 2012, as at the same show last year, the same cars were present.
Singer was a Rootes group brand from 1956 to 1970, when Chrysler allowed it to die. Prior to 1956, Singer had been one of several brands trapped between the lack of volume and the lack of perceived prestige. The company eventually folded in 1955 and was bought by the Rootes Group, whose Chairman Sir William Rootes was a former Singer apprentice. Singer’s last standalone car was the Singer Hunter, a derivative of the 1948 Singer 1500. Under Rootes’s ownership, Singer quickly became an upmarket Hillman, sitting below Humber and without the sporting emphasis of Sunbeam.
As well the Vogue based on the Superminx, Rootes offered the Singer Gazelle, based on the Hillman Minx. This strategy did not survive the Chrysler takeover as the brand was discontinued in 1970. By then, there was a Vogue based on the Hillman Hunter (Sunbeam Arrow), and the number of these still existing is even lower than the Superminx based cars.
The show where I saw these was at Swavesey in Cambridgeshire, England, where the annual steam rally features a good range of classic cars, trucks and agricultural vehicles. To see 3 cars out of a total population of perhaps 20 is going to be memorable; to park up next to them, as I did this year with my Mazda MX-5, even more so.
I’ve parked next to 3 Singer Vogue estates simultaneously, and not many can people can say that!
The Singer’s grille makes it look even more like a Studebaker Lark wagon. It’s hard to disguise their joint Loewy origins.
much better looking than next generation ARROW series.that 1725cc engine was tough as nails thou.
Mechanically Rootes cars were quite bullet proof against rust however not so much especially the Arrow series.
And you wondered where GM got the idea for it’s 80’s strategy? To the same general result, of course. At least GM’s versions were styled a bit better.
As an American, Singer cars seemed such a strange concept, as I grew up in a country where Singer made sewing machines. As a lover of station wagons (estates), I find these interesting. Had not really looked at one before. Not sure that the front end is the most attractive thing to come out of the UK, but I could live with it.
Nothing to do with the car, but here Singer is better known as sewing machine brand but when I was going to college (70’s) I had a Singer (also labeled Frieden) scientific calculator my Dad bought for me while I was an undergraduate. It worked great (interesting oval buttons) but I got teased whenever someone borrowed my calculator, it stood out from the HP, TI, and Casio brands which were more common back then.
Interesting relation between sewing machines and cars. Peugeot produced them (among many other products). And Toyota and Hyundai still do today. Can’t figure out why they do it, being such a small market (from a car maker’s point of view).
That’s an amazing find. In the US this generation was sold as the Hillman Gazelle because I used to see a sedan parked on the street near Good Samaritan Hospital in NW Portland.
For trivia buffs, I will point out that this name has nothing to do with the Vogue trim level found on Range Rovers outside the US, that originated as the “In Vogue” as part of a promotion with Vogue magazine.
Nice cars and not very often seen even SuperMinx wagons are kinda thin on the ground now a friend of mine has a Superminx wagon in original condition. I’currently wrecking a Singer Gazelle for seats and stuff to fit into my Minx
Rootes built a cross of the Minx and Vogue called the Humber 80 in NZ to gain more import quota there is a survivor locally in original cond I copied it to rebuild my Minx
Thanks Roger,I have never seen an estate before.As a kid in 60s and 70s Britain I saw a few saloons but they were nowhere near as common as the Hlilman and Humber version.Badge engineering was pretty common in the US and UK car industries and also happened with a few British motorcycle manufacturers
The motorcycle manufacturers weren’t so much doing badge engineering, as the British components industry was so prevalent that most manufacturers did their own engine, frame, and tinware; and bought everything else in. Which meant Lucas (on the expensive bikes) or Wipac (on the cheap ones) electrics, Smiths gauges, etc.
Where it really got all consuming was in the two-stroke commuter bikes. With a few exceptions (Ariel Leader immediately comes to mind, AMC attempted to build their own motors in the sixties for James and Francis-Barnett), Villiers owned the two-stroke industry. To the point that development stagnated, and once Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki arrived Villiers was dead. To the very end Villiers two-strokes needed pre-mixed gas, as they never bothered to develop their own oil injection system. Or copy a Japanese version.
Ive got a Villiers motor on a ATCO reel mower the engine design goes back to the dawn of time yet its a 50s model,with very weak spark.
I always thought the Vogue and Super Minx were clunky-looking, and lacking in style compared to the older Minx and Gazelle models.
I prefer the Audax models but then I have one
These were sold in Australia as the Humber Vogue because for some reason Singer had a bad name. Or should I say the sedans were, I dont think they sold Vogue wagons here. There are plenty of Superminx wagon survivors though, as many as the sedan it seems.
A funny quirk from driving a Singer Gazelle & Hillman Minx is they had the column shift patterns reversed, one had 3rd & 4th closest to the wheel and the other had 3rd & 4th closest to the dash. Very ztrange way of adding differentiation if you ask me.
These cars are much more characterful than the Arrow cars but also a lot heavier and less space efficient. The Vogue styling is more formal than the Superminx (fit well as a Humber) with ‘upmarket’ touches like quad headlights but the Superminx is a cleaner more attractive design – the original usually is.
The shift pattern changed on all models with the 3a my car, Humber Vogue is a different car actually uses a different roofline. My mate who has a Superminx wagon has a 34k mile Singer Vogue sedan its like new inside alloy head 1725 with twinchoke Solex
There is a book to be written on the arcane positioning of British car Marques during this badge engineering period. Kind of like the Hanky code or the language of flowers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_of_flowers
There are still a few Singers of that vintage still around here, sedans and wagons. There was one 65ish wagon for sale earlier this year – I was briefly tempted until I saw my bank balance. Currently Trademe has ’67 and ’70 ‘Arrow’ Singer Vogues listed – I keep thinking I should save one (with my non-existent savings), but if I was going to get an Arrow it’d be the Humber Sceptre version. Anyway, back to the posted Vogue estates: great survivors, and what a thrill to find 3 adjacent!