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).
Response letter to a customer regarding their feedback and criticisms of the Phantom III model.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 89\1\ scan0234 | |
| Date | 6th January 1938 | |
| S/W Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} Cx{Major Len W. Cox - Advertising Manager}3/KW6138 Richard F.{Mr Friese} Summers, Esq. Messrs John Summers & Sons Limited, Hawarden Bridge Steel Works, Shotton, Chester. 6th January, 1938. Dear Sir, We are extremely obliged to you for your kind letter of the 4th instant, and for the trouble you have been good enough to take in writing us at some length giving your views and criticisms of the Phantom III. Very naturally we appreciate the nice things you have said about the car, but we appreciate just as much your criticisms and shall investigate these very closely. If we may we would like to comment on one or two of the paragraphs in your letter. Firstly, as regards the springing, you say this is definitely superior to the Bentley but no better than the average cheap American car except from the view of stability. We think your last words sum up the whole situation, for you will probably realise that it is a comparatively simple matter to make a car ride softly with soft springing but to make it stable at high speeds as well without imposing too much work upon the shock absorbers is an altogether different proposition. We consider the stability, coupled with the soft springing is one of the most important features of the Phantom III suspension. The position of the gear change is of course a compromise, but it does give a clear entrance to the offside of the driving seat which is what we were striving for and have definitely achieved. We doubt very much whether people would like a Rolls-Royce car with central gear change if that alternative was in your mind. As regards the clutch judder when reversing up hill, this definitely should not be so and we will look into the (contd) | ||