Purging the Rolls

In Britain, expense accounts and Rolls-Royces go hand in hand. Last week, in a letter sent to every Member of Parliament, Rolls-Royce Chairman Lord Kindersley, 62, solemnly warned against a proposal that "may eventually mean the end of the Rolls-Royce car." In his budget message last month, Chancellor of the Exchequer Selwyn Lloyd proposed to limit to -L-2,000 ($5,600) per car the amount that British firms can charge off on their income tax for executive limousines. Of the 1,200 Rollses and Bentleys (the same car with a different grille) sold in Britain each year, 75% are bought by corporations. To buy the cheapest Rolls ($16,800) for its managing director used to cost a company only $8,190 in nondeductible pounds; now it would cost $13,790.

Lord Kindersley ordered an immediate cutback in Rolls production. The company does not like to stockpile its cars, and the waiting time on delivery of a Rolls Silver Cloud has lately fallen from a year to four months or less. Since foreign sales still account for half the 2,400 Rolls and Bentley cars produced each year, the Rolls seemed unlikely to disappear immediately--and even if it did, Rolls-Royce, Ltd. would survive on its aeroengine business, which now accounts for 85% of the company's sales. But even the suggestion that Lloyd might destroy the most famed surviving symbol of British craftsmanship won Lord Kindersley some surprising allies. "My heart doesn't bleed for the expense-account set," said one London workman over his nightly pint of bitter, "but if that's what keeps Rolls-Royce going, I'm willing to pay the price."

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