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 discussing the performance and market for competing American cars and their challenge to the luxury car segment.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 170\2\ img149 | |
| Date | 17th June 1933 guessed | |
| My dear Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} Thanks for yours of May 10. Have been carrying it around to answer it and of course forgot it till this morning when I sent my winter clothes to the cleaners. Have made inquiries about the Ford V8, etc. These cars Ford, Essex Terraplane, small Chevrolet, etc. are becoming pretty well overpowered, but I have no doubt that given time they will be made to stand up. At present they give trouble when driven hard, but when the power is only used, as in 99% of them for getting away from the crowd at stop lights, they are sufficiently satisfactory to ensure a huge market. The larger Chevrolet and the Pontiac 8 are examples of well balanced designs which can use its power indefinitely even on the longest trips, 400-500 miles a day. Am convinced that we at Cadillac & you at R.R should spend time and money wisely in making an intensive study of these cars which are our real competition. The question is not whether the customer should buy a R.R., a Lincoln, Packard or Cadillac, but whether road transportation is sufficiently important to take 3, 5, or 10 thousand dollars out of a man's pocket, for a behemoth weighing three tons, or whether 100 quid handed over the counter for a jaunty little conveyance that can turn on a dime, and slue like a scared cat, is the correct answer to the human demand for "going places". Every reasoning person that I have confirms the latter choice, although Norma & I continue to buy LaSalles, which though large cars, are the smallest on which we can get a company discount. | ||