April 29: Rolls-Royce's problem

Hey, Rolls-Royce, isn't it enough to drive you mad? You make the most luxurious car in the world and one of the most expensive. Also it is very exclusive, afterall, how many folks can pony up around $500k or more for a new set of wheels? So you roll out this great and very distinctive car and somebody comes along and figures it's not distinctive or rare enough. What is one to do?

Being paid gobs of "money for nothing" (courtesy of Dire Straits), the Who's John Entwhistle decided his Rolls needed to be a station wagon, oops, sorry, I should say a shooting brake. His dogs couldn't ride in a "normal" big sedan?

Or some Indian maharaja figures cane work on the side would make his red ride stand out. Sure, park this along side an elephant in India and see which one gets the most attention. But cane work?

Or some Italian design house comes along and figures that they can out Roll-Royce you, by building this unusual cabrio. Did Frua improve this Phantom VI? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but someone with deep pockets figured it needed to be done and Rolls wasn't doing it.

Once again the car crazy Sultan of Brunei got into the act and had his Rolls done with a completely new body, something much better to collect dust in one of his massive car warehouses.

For shame.......that traditional RR designer, Hooper, should have known better than to screw up this early '90's sedan with a variety of options typically done for Florida seniors. You design a pleasing, big, expensive sedan and someone takes a whack at it design wise.

Ok, so back to my question at the beginning, what is one to do? There must be some way to capture this market or at least a bit of it, that demands more exclusivity. Flashback to last week's Beijing Auto Show and the introduction of a more exclusive Roller........

........may I introduce you to the Phantom Pinnacle Traveller (if you are going more exclusive, pick out a strange name as well). Sure this looks like many other Phantoms, other than the classic tutone, but get a load of that interior......

Yes, your eyes do not deceive you, that is a chess board in the back seat. How often have you asked the chauffeur for a board game as you drive to your estate, only to find out that all he has is Trivial Pursuit? The solution, of course, is to include it with your ride. Do you want your knight to be ivory or Lalique crystal? With great wealth, come momentous decisions and for sure, don't leave this one up to the chauffeur's discretion.

So will Rolls-Royce succeed in getting some of the big coin that being spent to make a distinctive ride even more distinctive? Not sure, but please keep Hooper away from this one!

Until next time.......