Brits of my vintage would never buy anything that was once a Vauxhall. They used to be cars that were just total crap.... although I have heard that they did improve in the '90s
Indeed they have. When we travel to visit family in the North West (that's code for Manchester and Lancashire) we have rented and driven Vectras and Astras. Both are actually decent cars - although not quite as good as say the Peugeot diesels which are wonderful vehicles to drive, in my experience.
Vauxhall feel more like European cars now, whereas they used to feel very American in their driving characteristics. However - as much as they have improved - they still aren't the best European cars. Nevertheless - given they are the new Saturn direction and are selling decently (although not overwhelmingly well) I expect they will continue to sell cars here for awhile.
Not sure about the new BMW looks though.