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).
Use, recommendation and commercial arrangement for Tonneline lubricating oil.
Identifier | ExFiles\Box 32\4\ Scan238 | |
Date | 5th May 1926 | |
To Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} from BJ. BJ1/H5.5.26. Copy to hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} (Struck through) X1588 LUBRICATING OILS. It was recently decided that as we could not get Price's oils easily, and could get Castrol everywhere, we might tell customers that they could use Castrol when they could not obtain Price's. It has been known for many years that customers could not get Price's in France, and as we were not prepared to allow them to use Castrol, after making tests with Tonneline we permitted them to use Tonneline: we recommended it even in our Instruction Book and stocked it at Paris and Nice. So far as we are aware, there is nothing detrimental in permitting our customers to continue to use Tonneline, and it will save a good deal of confusion, and probably loss of money, if we continue to recommend customers to use Tonneline. The Tonneline people have realised the advantage to them in making use of our name, and have paid us well for it. The Tonneline people advertise in garages and on notice boards along main roads: "Tonneline Oil for Rolls-Royce Cars". This is also an advertisement to us. The Tonneline people give us a commission on all the oil they sell which is of the blend recommended for Rolls-Royce, as on the cases of this oil they show that it is Tonneline oil for Rolls-Royce cars. This commission amounted last year to approximately Fcs. 40,000. In addition to this, of course, we sell quantities of it at our depots and make a further profit. Please let me know whether you see any objection to our customers continuing to use Tonneline. I understand that samples are sent to you from Paris taken at random from any tin of Tonneline, and that these are regularly tested by you to make sure that the quality remains constant. So far as we are aware, there has never been a complaint of any Rolls-Royce car on account of the use of Tonneline. Mr. Nobel, the President of the Tonneline Oil Company has had eleven Rolls-Royce cars and has just taken delivery of his twelfth. He also has a new PhantomCodename for PHANTOM I on order. | ||