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 on cost-saving, design, and production methods in U.S. motor factories.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 19\4\ Scan281 | |
| Date | 5th January 1931 | |
| To R.{Sir Henry Royce} From Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} c. to Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} c. to Wor.{Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} U.S.A. MOTOR FACTORIES. When visiting U.S.A. factories it is interesting to note how everyone talks costs. If one is talking to the engineers, they will always end up the description of a part by saying how much it costs. If you walk round the Works and take special interest in a part, the man in charge of that section will tell you how much it costs. Another feature is that if there is a part on the car which is giving no trouble they do not let it alone, they will scrap the whole of the design if they see a way of making it do the same job in a cheaper form. I spent one evening with Mr. Taub who is chief engineer to Chevrolet. The Chevrolet 6 cyl. enclosed car sells in U.S.A. for 495 dollars or about £102. Distributors are allowed 30% so that the factory have to sell the complete car for £72. They produce the 6 cylinder engine with starter dynamo and carburetter, for £11 including factory over-heads. Mr. Taub appeared to get all the thrill out of his job by endeavouring to reduce costs, at the same time the car has got to give satisfaction. The competition between Chevrolet and Ford is very keen. They boast because the only bit of alloy steel used on the car is the rear axle bevels. Another interesting point in a U.S.A. factory is that there are no stores as we know them. There is only work in progress, at Delco the final operation on shock absorbers for Chevrolet was to slide them down a chute into a railway truck. A piece of bar material comes in one day at Chevrolet, is made into a crankshaft and goes away in a car the next day. The inspection of parts is very thoroughly carried out. As there is no fitting and no road tests, one can see the necessity for this. It should not be imagined that they have super-men who do not make mistakes. I heard of one mistake which cost General Motors millions of dollars. They set out to make an air cooled Chevrolet, cast iron cylinders with copper pins, and actually started production. The cars were an absolute failure and those delivered had to be brought back. All the plant had been laid out and any amount of special machinery installed to produce air cooled cylinders. | ||