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).
Observations and critiques of a vehicle's features, including steering, lighting, and visibility.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 124\3\ scan0309 | |
| Date | 27th November 1934 | |
| -2- Cx.{Major Len W. Cox - Advertising Manager}1/KW.27.11.34. The steering I might say was entirely free from any form of kick. In that respect it was very good indeed. It seemed to me to be a cheap edition of the Buick that we have been trying of late. One point struck me as being very undesirable, and that is when you switch your side lamps on the dashboard and instrument lights come on also; in other words, you cannot have one without the other. Driving in fog on Saturday night it would have been greatly helpful if I could have switched out the dashboard lights. By doing this the side lights went out also. It is true we have never adopted this scheme yet, but I think it is a definitely bad arrangement. The visibility of the front of the car, i.e., nearside front wing, was extremely bad from the driver's seat. It was an utter impossibility to see where the wing was. This seems to be due to the tendency to fit small diameter wheels which bring the mudguards so low down. It is a very badpoint. I notice the Americans are coming overnow to our way of controlling the dipping headlights, i.e., with a foot switch, which I think is a much better arrangement than any form of hand control. The centre gear and brake lever are of course used. I think with regard to central control it is important that access to either front seat from either side should be provided to give the ideal arrangement, so that if and when necessary the driver can get in either on the nearside or the offside to reach the driving seat. In may cases the fact that the gear lever is so near the front seat cushion makes this not possible, as one cannot slide along from one side of the seat to the other. This Buick car was free from wind noises except when the hinged ventilating windows were opened sufficiently to be effective, when a lot of wind roar then resulted. Cx.{Major Len W. Cox - Advertising Manager} | ||