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).
Letter explaining the impracticality of providing an experimental car due to reliability and service capacity constraints.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 83\3\ scan0134 | |
| Date | 13th January 1941 | |
| Lp.{Mr Lappin} from Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}1/ADL.13.1.41. B.V. EXPERIMENTAL CARS. I have your note re the trial run which we were unable to give Mr. Pomeroy. For some time it has been self-evident that the work you have to do is such that it is not possible for you to use an experimental car. To use an experimental car implies willingness to allow the car to be used for experiments. The very fact that they are experiments means that the car must be held up more frequently than if it was a standard product, and also that very often its reliability must be impaired. You will remember that, at one time, the administration decided that you would have to use a standard car and I was largely instrumental in getting the decision altered. We manage to get far more experimental work done on the cars which Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} uses than on your own car, partially because he is located at Derby, but mainly because he very seldom objects to any alternative car we offer him. Unfortunately, in the interests of the Chassis Division at the present moment, we have only capacity to service cars which are of direct use to us. Under the circumstances, I am sure that the best arrangement is for your car in future to be dealt with entirely by Hythe Road. At the present time, it is impossible to expect to have the benefits of running an experimental car without any of the commensurate disadvantages. We are both too busy to be upset by incidents such as occured when Mr. Pomeroy visited us last week. Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} | ||