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).
Critique of various car features including hub caps, internal telephone, seating, blinds, and ventilators.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 125\1\ scan0108 | |
| Date | 13th August 1934 guessed | |
| -2- the weight of construction, exposed hinges, Christmas tree things festooned all over the back of it, and general external untidiness. The hub caps, for instance, have a great flange cast in the end of them, which must have the effect, when turning round quickly, of making the axle the thickness of the flange double (one each side) and longer than it need be, and yet the idea of the aero-dynamic style is to reduce weight of construction as much as possible. If this is the case, then why add totally unnecessary bits to the hub caps, or why, for that matter, have exposed hinges? The internal telephone is a Dictograph instrument, the loud speaker portion being fitted with a grid in the roof of the driver's compartment, and the microphone is fixed in the offside elbow rail. We tried this scheme some time ago, but it was found not so satisfactory as fitting the Dictograph under the dash, as the noise from the Dictograph under the dash tends to rise and go towards the driver, whereas the noise above his head only tends to confuse him and make him look up. We do not agree, either, with the fixed microphone, as it is so inconvenient to talk to the driver, if one is sitting on the opposite side of the back seat. The spring loaded ones are much more preferable and nearly as neat. The extra seats are very hard, very close together, and generally uncomfortable. The trimming and seats generally do not appear to be particularly comfortable. The centre armrest has no form of gap stopper, and operates on a single simple hinge. The trimming appears to be one of the worst points in the whole car, both as regards material and the way in which the material is put into the car. There is no remote control for the back window blind, which is simply an ordinary blind which has to be moved by the occupants of the back seat, if any. This is a very weak point, as it means that the driver has to stop the car to pull down the blind, and get in again, if he is inconvenienced by the lights of following cars. Blinds are fitted to the quarter and back windows only, and the rollers for these blinds are concealed, which is definitely neat. Pivotted ventilators are fitted to the front doors and quarters only, and the rear portion of the quarter window glass is a fixture. Whilst on the subject of ventilation, I have had my car fitted with most of the so-called ventilating devices, and I am not sure, after testing them all, that the old-fashioned louvre over the top of the window is not far and away the most satisfactory ventilator yet devised. First of all it is not unsightly, which most of these double acting and swivelling windows are, it is the only one which can be left open with the car standing in doubtful weather without fear of rain getting in, | ||