European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 19, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The $142,000 Rolls Royce Silver Spur. The $118,000 Bentley mul Sanne s. Driver s staff writer Dave Diehl of the . Bureau took the Opportunity to drive the Rolls Royce Silver Spur and the Bentley mul Sanne s and Turbo r. His impressions follow the Silver Spur the spirit of ecstasy that winged women adorning the Grille of every Rolls Royce motor car led the Way. At her feet and just behind her was the metallic Blue automobile its dark Blue Vinyl top gleaming its beige leather Interior Lambswool rugs and Mirror finish Walnut inviting. This was no Mere machine. It was a 1989 Rolls Royce Silver Spur. You have your bows. Your Mercedes. Your Cadillac. But there is Only one Rolls Royce. The Rolls Royce is a car designed to part the Driver from the efforts of driving. The ride in another car May remind one of a Rolls Royce and the other cars May have an Interior or a paint finish like a Rolls. And what about All those unsanctioned references to the name. Companies like to Call their products the Rolls Royce of their category. Of yes this is the Rolls Royce of fighter  this car was motion fluid Graceful motion. One slides onto the soft leather and into this special world of motoring. The door needs a Little extra tug As if a reminder that you Are really inside. There is no question of headroom it s there. Comfort nothing to match it and still not overstated. Performance nothing at 2.5 tons could Ever be so Swift smooth and Graceful. Prestige image Hoo boy. The Spur is of a regal Bloodline the sister of the corniche Cousin of the Bentley grandchild of the Silver Shadow. It like All of its Kin bearing the overlapping or on their badges carries Queen Elizabeth la s warrant a Seal of approval that needs no complement. At the tap of the key the hand tooled hand built steel and Alloy engine turns Over with Little More Effort than the thought it takes to do it. The engine gives a Little shake to Loose the cobwebs from a sleepy night and that is the last you hear of it. Inside the climate control taking cues from three sensors blows a gentle Whir through a leathery world. Set it they say and drive from Spain to Finland without changing it. The senses take a break. The digital thermometer with a sensor somewhere outside reads the temperature you care not. Step it onto a Highway. It is Ballet like motion that first push on the accelerator that puts you gently into motoring nirvana. Somewhere Between the few Square inches of rubber on the Road and the Driver the world is gently tamed. This car is not one to be put through the paces As they say. No need. Put a foot to the floor and Shell go. But the desire to get anywhere fast in such an environment is wasted Effort. You want to stick around. The senses Are on hold Here. Nothing but Good feelings All around. All the while that lady the spirit of ecstasy still watches Over the Road ahead. The Only sound is the creaking leather inside. The Bentley mul Sanne s the Bentley mul Sanne s is in the truest sense a Driver s car. The makers have added an extra stiffness deeper buckets and a Little More sport iness to go with the Price tag. It s a fun car with the Rolls Royce reputation and with most of its ride and All of its Beauty. Really the Only thing it lacks is the Silver spirit of ecstasy on the Grille. But the car in t As Ladylike. The famous winged Bentley a however is Symbol enough for reassurance s Sake but that s what makes it exciting. The wind must Rush around this car and embrace it if for Only a split second. It wants to. It would t just want to pass Over the mul Sanne s. The Bentley Turbo r the Bentley Turbo r is a different Story. Like its sister the mul Sanne a it growls beneath you Only with a deeper thro tier sound. With a car like this it s difficult to judge Speed. With Only a Small Effort from the right foot the Turbo kicks in with a smoothness that goes almost unnoticed. There is Little hint that eight Turbo charged fuel injected cylinders Are pounding out the Power just a gentle push on the Backrest of the seat and the world Rushing by the automatic leveling suspension and the three Speed torque converter transmission Are taking care of much of that. In seconds the speedometer Needle is going for 100 Mph and with no sign of any Effort on its Way to the 135 Mph Mark. There is always enough engine but not always enough Road. Hoods and trunks raised Rolls Royce automobiles make their Way along the Assembly line in the factory in Crewe. Dennis Jones lines up the Emblem. Matching up the Walnut Grain. The 6.7-liter engines of Rolls Royce and Bentley automobiles. Tim Moore and his 68 Silver Shadow i. Rich Man s car not necessarily you Don t have to be Rich to own a Rolls Royce. Englishman Tim Moore is proof of that. If you want a Rolls Royce go buy a used one Moore says As if buying one is As routine As picking up a Box of breakfast Cereal at the grocery store. Moore the head of the scheduled airline travel offices at american military bases in Britain drives his 1968 Silver Shadow i from his Newmarket Home to work and Back every Day. A self proclaimed modest Man of modest Means Moore insists that his salary has nothing to do with the Quality of the car he drives. Six months ago Moore says he found a bargain in his Sable Over beige Silver Shadow so he traded in his porsche a car he bought Back in the Moore Days of i wanted a porsche so i bought a  despite appearances Moore says his latest automotive buy was not extravagant. Although modesty keeps him from saying How much he paid for it he puts the total at less than $18,500. It s Worth about $24,000 now and appreciating. The London sunday papers Are full of similar bargains. Many Middle class people with average incomes buy used Rolls Royce cars. For the Money they obtain cars that ride better than most new luxury cars and for about the same Price sometimes less. They count on the perfection that went into the car when it was built in the company s Crewe factory finding Comfort in the fact that 65 of every 100 Rolls Royce cars built since 1905 Are still on the Road. Moore who once raced open wheel formula cars said his love affair with Rolls Royce cars started 15 years ago when he bought a 1929 phantom ii. He helped to pay for it by renting it for weddings. Maintenance on a Rolls Royce if performed by an official garage can be expensive he admits but he adds that maintenance requirements Are infrequent. Insurance he says is about $750 a year which is about average in the United kingdom. And some people want to be different. Noticed. All the new cars Are the same Moore says. They Veall gone through the same wind Tunnel test. I prefer owning something  . 12 stripes Magazine january 19, 1989 january 19, 1989 stripes Magazine 13