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).
Analysis of the weaknesses in English manufacturing and parts supply compared to the American motor industry.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 170\3\ img200 | |
| Date | 25th July 1939 guessed | |
| 8 English manufacturers generally have not fully realised that the first requisite for economical manufacture is extreme accuracy, and the second is a full knowledge of the facts. There is also a serious deficiency in this country, of agressive and intelligent parts-makers. These suppliers have been a tremendous factor in improving the efficiency & reducing the cost of American cars. For example there are no really up to date sources in this country for first-class forgings, or for good leaf springs, large coil springs, valve springs, shock absorbers, etc. And the whole industry languishes to a certain extent, for lack of them. Contributing factors such as taxations, road-conditions, and lower wage scales, which limit the size of the industry and therefore discourage such suppliers, are, I think, often exaggerated. The American slogan that "everyone wants to own a motorcar" is equally true in Gt. Britain, and the American industry is largely the creator of the prosperity which it supplies. | ||