Give the Chauffeur The Day Off

Rolls Royce readies a smaller, but still very upscale, model for buyers who want to drive themselves

BusinessWeek, November 5, 2007 — Rolls Royce is about nothing if not extravagance. Its Phantom sedan, after all, is 19 feet long, sells for more than most houses, and includes a 420-watt sound system with 15 speakers, plush sheepskin carpets, and a 12-cylinder engine. So what to make of a downsized model that the company plans to introduce in 2009—a Rolls that you might, say, take to the bakery to pick up some bread for cucumber sandwiches? "This is your everyday Rolls," says Chris Bangle, design chief at German automaker BMW, which bought the Rolls name in 1998.

Rolls works hard on its soft sell†

Financial Times, February 6, 2007 — Premium car companies often like totalk about making every customer count. When Rolls-Royce Motors does so, it is difficult to doubt its sincerity. The British super-luxury marque, owned by Germany's BMW, sells barely 800 cars a year.