IN the early 1960s Vauxhall design experienced a sea change.

Out went the very American lines of the old Victor F and Velox/Cresta models and in came much more sober styling.

Many missed the old attempt to impose Detroit styling and some mourned the end of the wrap arounds and dog-leg looks, but the new cars were significant in that they pointed the way ahead for medium and large cars on the UK's roads for years to come.

To me the most significant of these cars were the Velox and more luxurious Cresta. Gone were the acres of chrome and snazzy bits of the old models and in was a bland understated look that belied the power that lurked under the bonnet of these big six-cylinder cars.

This final version of the Velox, launched along with the Cresta PB at the London Motor Show in 1962 was well over four and a half meters long: it was the largest Velox ever built, longer and wider than the Ford Zephyr with which it competed in in the big car sales stakes.

Dropping the vertical fins emphasised the car's width and it certainly was a big hunk of a car.

Initially power was provided by a 2,651cc straight six which gave 95bhp and a maximum speed of 94mph but two years after launch the Velox became available with a 3.3 six cylinder engine and this transformed it into a formidable beast with 113bhp on tap and 102mph in its sights.

This car was one of the stars of the glory days of big cars when environmental concerns did not figure large and big smooth six-cylinders were kings of the road and the pride of the driveways.

The 1965 update brought a new grille, new tail lights incorporating optional reversing lights, twin rear exhaust pipes, 120mph speedometer (was 110), new interior trim and, towards the end of the run, a switch from three-speed Hydramatic to two-speed Powerglide transmissions.

Velox models were also assembled at the General Motors New Zealand plant and special versions were built for local traffic police. The 3.3 was particularly popular with these government customers.

October 1965 saw the introduction of the next generation Vauxhall Cresta PC, equipped with that same 3,294cc engine. This time no Velox version was offered and the Cresta itself became the only model of the big car line up. Certainly a sign of things to come.

The Veloxes and Crestas in all their forms and evolutions never became James Bond cars but one was the wheels of Anthony Hopkins in the movie The World's Fastest Indian and in the TV series Only Fools and Horses, Del Boy boasts of owning one with Rodney as his driver.

But you do often see them in 1960s and 70s TV police and nostalgia series and they certainly bring back happy memories for me. I drove a few Veloxes and Crestas in their day and they were smooth and powerful cars - the sort that gave you supreme satisfaction behind the wheel and the type you spent hours polishing on a Sunday morning.