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Photo source: Autogespot
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If you're in the market for a new car - a really nice new car - you might be facing the tough choice between a Bentley and a Rolls Royce. As for which one is better, though, that's hard to say. They're both exquisite cars and they both have a lot to offer. They're also both very expensive, so it's not like you'll save a lot of money buying one over the other.
For people who buy these kinds of cars, money generally isn't an object. If you want to buy one and can't afford to get it new, though, you can also consider buying one of them used. They still won't qualify for the term 'inexpensive' but they might come a little bit closer to it than they would have if they were still brand new.
Features are important, of course, but it's very difficult to get one of these kinds of cars that's not fully loaded. They come with the same kinds of options that lower-priced cars have, and then some. That's true of both of the models, too, so choosing one of them over the other based on price or features isn't really realistic. The same is true of the prestige of driving them, too. Mostly, which one you like best will be the main reason for choosing one over the other.
There is no real 'better' when it comes to cars of this calibre. There is only exceptional - and for many of the same reasons between the two brands. There are not that many different models of these cars, so it's not a matter of choosing an SUV over a sports car. It's a matter of preference for one particular name, a tiny bit of different styling, or some other issue that people who aren't fans of these kinds of cars might find insignificant. It's a matter of what you like and don't like, and it's a matter of how much you read and pay attention to reviews. You can find some that say one car is better than the other. If you look around, you'll find reviews saying the opposite when it comes to which car is the best choice. Some rank them equally. Only you can decide which one is really right for you.
This article was written by Tom Sangers on behalf of Romans International who are Bentley Dealership based in Surrey.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tom_Sangers
Sir Frederick Henry Royce was born in 1863 to James and Mary Royce. He was the youngest of five children. His parents ran a flour mill however their business failed forcing them to move to London. Then in 1872 his father died. After only a year of formal schooling, young Royce had to drop out and start selling newspapers and delivering telegrams.
However in 1878 an aunt provided some financial support and he was able to start an apprenticeship with the Great Northern Railway at Peterborough, England. But in three years, he was out of money so he came to London and went to work for the Electric Light and Power Co. He then moved to Liverpool where he worked on street and theatre lights.
Royce was thrifty and saved his money. In 1884 he had saved twenty pounds and his friend, Ernest Claremont, had fifty pounds. They merged their savings and started the F H Royce Co. producing electrical fittings. The company was successful and in 1894 became Royce Ltd.
However the economic slump of 1902 together with competition from foreign manufacturers brought hard times. Royce purchased a second hand Decauville and began to toy with it, working out various modifications and improvements. By 1904 he was testing his own engines.
Then in mid-1904 a mutual friend introduced him to Charles Rolls. Rolls was impressed with Royce's two cylinder Royce 10. So much so, that he signed an agreement to purchase all the cars that Royce could make. They would be marketed as a Rolls Royce. Royce now had the financial backing to build a successful company. The first Rolls Royce was displayed at the Paris Salon in December 1904
The two partners were vastly different in personality and background. Rolls was formally educated in Britain's most prestigious schools whereas Royce was self-taught. Rolls was an adventurer who lived life in the fast lane while Royce was a perfectionist who believed, "Small things make perfection but perfection is no small thing." Rolls came from a wealthy family. Royce had been poor. In spite of their differences, however, the two men got along well and were close friends.
In 1906, Rolls and Royce created Rolls Royce Ltd. and Rolls was employed as Technical Manager at a salary of 750 pounds annually and four percent of all profits in excess of 10,000 pounds.
Rolls soon became bored and exchanged his position as Technical Manager for a non-executive manager so he could pursue his flying interests.
Royce was a workaholic who didn't always eat properly and became ill in 1902 and 1911. He also had major surgery in London. But he did not allow his health to interfere with his work.
The night before he died, he sat up in bed and designed an adjustable shock absorber. His motto was, "Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble." He was also the originator of the quotation that "The quality remains long after the price is forgotten."
The automobile he created had a "name that is synonymous with engineering excellence, style and luxury." That reputation continues until this day.
Mascot is a term used to refer to the hood ornament on a car. It is generally represents something which the car symbolizes. Mascots can be outstanding works of art on their own or else be quite ordinary. The first Rolls Royce had no hood ornamentation. However in the early 1900's many people in Great Britain were working to enhance public acceptance of the automobile. One of these was John Walter Edward Douglas-Scott Montagu who, in 1905, became the second Lord Montagu of Beaulieu. He was a passionate lover of cars and an enthusiastic advocate of motoring interests.
At that time, there was an Automobile Club in Britain, which sponsored the Thousand Miles Trial to prove the safety and reliability of motorcars. The club was managed by Claude Johnson who had a very beautiful secretary named Eleanor Thornton.
Both Claude and Lord Montagu were friends and admirers of the artistic works of Charles Robinson Sykes, a graduate of the London Royal College of Art. Montagu, who owned a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, commissioned Sykes to produce a hood ornament especially for his automobile. Using Eleanor as his model, Sykes crafted a sculpture of a woman holding her fingers to her lips and named it The Whisper.
Montagu's car struck a chord with the public and people began attaching all manner of objects to their cars. By this time, Claude Johnson had moved from the Automobile Club to the Rolls Royce Company. He became alarmed at the impropriety of these impromptu hood ornaments and decided to commission a mascot that would reflect "the overall style and quality of the car." So he turned to his friend Sykes.
Johnson, as he conveyed to Sykes, had in mind something akin to the spirit of the mythical beauty Nike, whose image was on display at the Louvre in Paris. Sykes, however, disagreed feeling that the representation should be more feminine. Evidently Sykes prevailed, as he created another sculpture of Ms. Thornton. The sculpture was three inches high and crafted of white metal. Later, it would be manufactured from stainless steel. There is a myth that the ornaments are made of silver but silver has never been used. Again, the lady has her finger to her lips as though conveying a secret.
Sykes named his creation the Spirit of Speed.
But Johnson changed the name to the Spirit of Ecstasy.
In the meantime, Ms. Thornton had become secretary to Lord Montagu and they had also become lovers. Because of the mores of the time that forbade any romantic alliance between two people of such vastly different social and economic standing, their affair was a secret known only to a few close friends. Together, they had a daughter however she was placed in a foster home and knew Montagu only as uncle.
Their love story ended in tragedy. They were both aboard the SS Persia, enroute to India, via the Mediterranean when the boat was struck by a torpedo from a German U-boat. Eleanor drowned but Montagu survived. Privately, he was devastated but he dared not publicly mourn her death.
However, their romance may be immortalized on the hood of the world's most prestigious automobile if indeed the speculation that has been made is true. For it is said that the 'secret' embodied in the image was actually the love that Eleanor shared with Montagu.
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