From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Customer criticism and the negative impact of the 'New Phantom' exhaust noise on the company's reputation.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 66\2\ scan0063 | |
| Date | 19th August 1925 | |
| COPY. To BJ. PN{Mr Northey}1/DN19.8.25. From PN.{Mr Northey} "NEW PHANTOMCodename for PHANTOM I" EXHAUST. & I conclude that it is only those who have day by day to give demonstration runs on the "New PhantomCodename for PHANTOM I" to enquirers, who can fully appreciate the extent to which the Rolls-Royce reputation is suffering by reason of the relatively noisy exhaust nowadays. It is most irritating and undesirable that on nearly every occasion when a man is given a fine impression of our new model, he inevitably criticises the great amount of noise made by the exhaust, which tends to neutralize, and draw attention from, the other fine features of the "New PhantomCodename for PHANTOM I". Again yesterday, when giving a demonstration to Mr. Ballantyne and his two sons from America, this gentleman stated that his two Rolls-Royce "Silver Ghosts" appeared to him to run along at 50 m.p.h. in a much silkier way than our car, entirely because of the impression of noise derived from the exhaust. He appreciated that our New PhantomCodename for PHANTOM I" is a more desirable car in many respects, but the exhaust note seemed to get hold of him and irritate him. On so many occasions during the last few months I have been informed by officials at W. that there would very soon be a modification putting this matter right, but day by day we go on turning out cars which we know perfectly well are going to hit us hard in practically our most vulnerable point, i.e. any noise made by a Rolls-Royce chassis is a much more serious thing than any noise would be on any other make of car. We perhaps can afford not to turn out a car which shall be best known because of its powers of speed, but we cannot afford, I am convinced, to go on any longer allowing each of our "New PhantomCodename for PHANTOM Is" to sing its own swan-song in this manner. P.N. | ||