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).
Procurement and evaluation of competing American cars for research purposes, including Cadillac, Packard and Hudson.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 173\2\ img269 | |
| Date | 16th March 1934 | |
| To Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} from Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} re Cars from America. Thanks for Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}7/WJ.14.3.34. I note that Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} is arranging for a 16-cylinder Cadillac to be shipped to us and we ought to get the car early in May. I mentioned to you on the telephone the other day that, in conversation with Captain Woolf Barnato, who has been over in America for about three months and who tried nearly all the latest cars, in his opinion the 12-cylinder Packard was a nicer and better luxury motor-car than the 16-cylinder Cadillac. I appreciate that the latter is of more interest to us at the moment because it has the independent springing which the Packard has not, but I think we ought to consider seriously the question of buying a Packard as soon as it is in production with the independent springing, but we can of course consider this later, and I should be glad if E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} would make a point of speaking to me about it next time I am with him. Re the Terraplane Six (now called Hudson). C. has been in touch with Messrs. Shaw and Kilburn. We have ordered one of the 21.6 HP 6-cylinder saloons for delivery as soon as possible, which we hope to get before Easter. If so, I hope that C., Cx.{Major Len W. Cox - Advertising Manager} and myself will have an opportunity of trying it before it comes up to Derby. I understand the chief reason we are purchasing this is with a view to helping us with our present production 20/25 which necessarily has got to carry on for some time. I note with interest what you say about Oy. and the Dubonnet scheme but I think that this ought not to affect the decision we arrived at the other day. One must remember that Oy. is probably a little prejudiced from the point of view that it is his design of scheme and not the Dubonnet which is being used on Cadillacs. Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} | ||