European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 19, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                "4- v 1, v f Efi a " tfx a jul ,. We a of "4 " a at Rolls Royce a " perfection is the goal stories and photos by Dave Diehl . Bureau if you look close at the stainless steel smile of a Rolls Royce you can see Dennis Jones work. But you must get close and look for that Little welded seam. It s just up there on the Forward Edge of those gleaming Grilles. If Jones does t get that seam perfect at the Width of a human hair by his estimate it just would t be Good enough for the face of one of the finest motoring machines Ever made. In a Small Glass walled workshop in the Center of the Crewe factory in England Jones and a few other skilled workmen turn out every Grille that will adorn the front of a Rolls Royce car. Think of British cars Jaguar my Aston Martin and maybe Triumph come to mind. Think of the ultimate British car and the name Rolls Royce quickly comes to mind. To everyone almost everywhere in the civilized world Rolls Royce cars and their relatives the Bentley Are symbols of on the Road luxury the ultimate in British understated excellence. They Are also symbols of Success wealth and perhaps overindulgence. Who needs a $200,000 car to get you from a to a one might ask. Our kind of customer is a shrewd individual who has worked hard for his Money says Rolls Royce Public relations Man David Preston a 34-year Veteran of the company which is based in Crewe in England s West midlands. Rolls Royce believes that the 3,000 people lining up on the waiting lists certainly Are concerned about the prices Preston said. That shrewdness Means a Rolls Royce buyer will Likely be looking for his or her Money s Worth. Preston said they Are assured to get it. Is there a place for a car with a Price tag equivalent to a parking lot full of Hyundai with a world production of about 25 million cars a year we d like to think there is room for about 3,000 of the Best said Preston. The largest number of those will go to the United states where More than 1,200 new machines Grace the roads each year. Rolls Royce cars from their very first Day Are meant to be the embodiment of perfection. Over the past 88 years Little has changed in that philosophy. Like Jones Handiwork so much of the 50 to 60 cars that leave the factory each week is measured to perfection fitted just right and used on the cars Only if flawless. Take the dashboard s Walnut fascia. Every piece of finely finished and varnished Wood that trims the inside of a Rolls Royce has a twin image on either Side. Few Drivers  that the right Side Wood Grain matches the Grain of its counterpart on the left. Workers in the company s Wood shop take paper thin specially selected California Walnut and laboriously match them up for twin  the leather work from the Headliner to the doors comes from 13 of the Best unblemished scandinavian cowhide. When you ask up to $205,000 for a car you have to do special things for your buyer. Rolls Royce has found that Small things matter. Not satisfied with Mere thermostatically controlled dual level hot and cold blowing Heaters and air conditioning the engineers have developed a system that takes in outside air and freezes it to get rid of the moisture before heating it or Cooling it All lest the windows fog up. Rolls Royce engines giant 6.75-liter v-8s meet perhaps the most gruelling of standards. Each hand built motor is run in for two hours to Check for quietness and vibration. One engine in 100 is pulled from the factory floor and taken apart by engineers who embark on a 10-Day Check that involves some 241 calculations and More than 600 measurements. If All is right the average Rolls Royce engine will turn Over enough times to take its owner around the world some 60 times or about 250,000 luxurious motoring Miles. When a Rolls Royce is finished it s accompanied by an 88-Page document that lists and accounts for every one of the hundreds of checks and inspections by some 400 inspectors that make it As near to perfection As they can get it. Absent from that list however is anything about whether Jones gets that Little badge up front straight. He claims that in 10 years he s never welded one on crooked. It has to meet Only one Standard his own and probably one of the most rigorous it has to be perfect to the  january 19, 1989 stripes Magazine 11