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Thank you. Best and most thorough explanation that I've seen.Mark L
In a message dated 3/8/2020 2:30:27 PM Eastern Standard Time, tigers@autox.=
team.net writes:
The best and most authoritative answers to the why the Tiger was discontinu=
ed that I=E2=80=99ve found are in the collection of Papworth papers housed =
in the Culture Coventry Archive at the Herbert Museum in Coventry.
=C2=A0
Mr Papworth was a very high level =E2=80=9Cplanner=E2=80=9D for Rootes. He =
reported to a very select group, comprised mainly of family members who wer=
e the heart of the Rootes board. After his retirement he donated thousands(=
?) of pages of notes and memos. I=E2=80=99ve spent several days reading the=
m and want to go back.
=C2=A0
Mr. Papworth lays out a very comprehensive Tiger story. The Tiger represent=
ed only 2% of Rootes=E2=80=99 sales and was consequentially just a blip on =
management=E2=80=99s attention. Tigers were barely mentioned in board meeti=
ngs as the high production Imps and Hillmans dominated the discussions. The=
Mk1s & 1As sold well. The Mk2 that was built was not the Mk2 that the engi=
neers had designed and tested (with upgraded 5-bolt 14=E2=80=9D wheels to f=
it 4-wheel discs, the same 3-puck calipers used on Aston Martins and street=
Cobras) and the resulting lack of initial sales seemed to be the straw tha=
t broke the camel=E2=80=99s back. But Papworth also outlines other contribu=
ting issues.
=C2=A0
Rootes engineers determined that Chrysler V8s would not fit in a Tiger. The=
y explored alternatives including one that would have been built a new =E2=
=80=9CTiger=E2=80=9D with fiberglass body in the USA. Obviously none of tho=
se alternatives worked out.
=C2=A0
After Lord Rootes passed away his brother, Reggie, assumed control. Reggie =
wanted to replace the Alpine/Tiger with a smaller sportscar that was simila=
r to a Spitfire. That car, =E2=80=9CApex=E2=80=9D, had been designed and wa=
s very close to production when a sub-contractor tripled the initial cost e=
stimate for its fiberglass body. That ended Rootes=E2=80=99 attempt at a re=
placement sportscar.
=C2=A0
The US government had long imposed standards for the cars it purchased for =
government use =E2=80=93 the GSA standards. These existing GSA standards we=
re eventually adopted for all cars sold in the US. The Alpine/Tiger platfor=
m would have needed upgrades to comply. Tooling for these would have been c=
ostly on a per unit basis due to low production volume.
=C2=A0
The space used at Pressed Steel to build the Alpines and Tigers was needed =
by another Rootes vehicle which was high production and therefore a higher =
priority. Assuming Rootes would accept the cost of upgrades to comply with =
GSA standards, where could the Alpine/Tiger be built? Rootes looked at alte=
rnatives including moving the entire Alpine/Tiger production from Pressed S=
teel to Jensen. At one point Rootes even offered to purchase Jensen. Jensen=
refused. The move never happened. Rootes never found an alternate contract=
or to build the cars.
=C2=A0
Papworth cites all of these factors in the decision to end Tiger production=
.
=C2=A0
Buck Trippel
=C2=A0
=C2=A0
From: Tigers <tigers-bounces@autox.team.net> On Behalf Of Ross Hulse via Ti=
gers
Sent: Sunday, March 8, 2020 1:57 AM
To: Curt Bowland <cbowland@msn.com>
Cc: tigers <tigers@autox.team.net>
Subject: Re: [Tigers] Urban legend
=C2=A0
The demise of the Sunbeam Tiger was that they did not sell very well.=C2=A0=
The USA import regs for cars would require expensive modifications to the =
car.=C2=A0 So in February 1967 the decision was made to finish the cars tha=
t were in the line and send them to Canada.=C2=A0 Everything about not fitt=
ing a Chrysler engine is just a=C2=A0rumor.
_______________________________________________
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<div>
<div class="userEdit" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 14pt; color: #000000;">
<div><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;
color: #000000;">Thank you. Best and most thorough explanation that I've
seen.</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;
color: #000000;">Mark L</span></div>
<div><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;
color: #000000;"><br></span></div>
</div>
In a message dated 3/8/2020 2:30:27 PM Eastern Standard Time,
tigers@autox.team.net writes:
<div><br></div>
<div class="quotedReply">
<blockquote style="padding-left: 5px; margin-left: 5px; border-left: blue 2px
solid;">
<div id="yiv2264497653">
<div>
<div class="yiv2264497653WordSection1">
<p class="yiv2264497653MsoNormal">The best and most authoritative answers to
the why the Tiger was discontinued that I’ve found are in the collection
of Papworth papers housed in the Culture Coventry Archive at the Herbert Museum
in Coventry.</p>
<p class="yiv2264497653MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="yiv2264497653MsoNormal">Mr Papworth was a very high level
“planner” for Rootes. He reported to a very select group, comprised
mainly of family members who were the heart of the Rootes board. After his
retirement he donated thousands(?) of pages of notes and memos. I’ve
spent several days reading them and want to go back.</p>
<p class="yiv2264497653MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="yiv2264497653MsoNormal">Mr. Papworth lays out a very comprehensive
Tiger story. The Tiger represented only 2% of Rootes’ sales and was
consequentially just a blip on management’s attention. Tigers were barely
mentioned in board meetings as the high production Imps and Hillmans dominated
the discussions. The Mk1s & 1As sold well. The Mk2 that was built was not
the Mk2 that the engineers had designed and tested (with upgraded 5-bolt
14” wheels to fit 4-wheel discs, the same 3-puck calipers used on Aston
Martins and street Cobras) and the resulting lack of initial sales seemed to be
the straw that broke the camel’s back. But Papworth also outlines other
contributing issues.</p>
<p class="yiv2264497653MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="yiv2264497653MsoNormal">Rootes engineers determined that Chrysler V8s
would not fit in a Tiger. They explored alternatives including one that would
have been built a new “Tiger” with fiberglass body in the USA.
Obviously none of those alternatives worked out.</p>
<p class="yiv2264497653MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="yiv2264497653MsoNormal">After Lord Rootes passed away his brother,
Reggie, assumed control. Reggie wanted to replace the Alpine/Tiger with a
smaller sportscar that was similar to a Spitfire. That car, “Apex”,
had been designed and was very close to production when a sub-contractor
tripled the initial cost estimate for its fiberglass body. That ended
Rootes’ attempt at a replacement sportscar.</p>
<p class="yiv2264497653MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="yiv2264497653MsoNormal">The US government had long imposed standards
for the cars it purchased for government use – the GSA standards. These
existing GSA standards were eventually adopted for all cars sold in the US. The
Alpine/Tiger platform would have needed upgrades to comply. Tooling for these
would have been costly on a per unit basis due to low production volume.</p>
<p class="yiv2264497653MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="yiv2264497653MsoNormal">The space used at Pressed Steel to build the
Alpines and Tigers was needed by another Rootes vehicle which was high
production and therefore a higher priority. Assuming Rootes would accept the
cost of upgrades to comply with GSA standards, where could the Alpine/Tiger be
built? Rootes looked at alternatives including moving the entire Alpine/Tiger
production from Pressed Steel to Jensen. At one point Rootes even offered to
purchase Jensen. Jensen refused. The move never happened. Rootes never found an
alternate contractor to build the cars.</p>
<p class="yiv2264497653MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="yiv2264497653MsoNormal">Papworth cites all of these factors in the
decision to end Tiger production.</p>
<p class="yiv2264497653MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="yiv2264497653MsoNormal">Buck Trippel</p>
<p class="yiv2264497653MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="yiv2264497653MsoNormal"> </p>
<div id="yiv2264497653yqtfd70226" class="yiv2264497653yqt1890812592">
<p class="yiv2264497653MsoNormal"><strong>From:</strong> Tigers
<tigers-bounces@autox.team.net> <strong>On Behalf Of </strong>Ross Hulse
via Tigers<br clear="none"><strong>Sent:</strong> Sunday, March 8, 2020 1:57
AM<br clear="none"><strong>To:</strong> Curt Bowland
<cbowland@msn.com><br clear="none"><strong>Cc:</strong> tigers
<tigers@autox.team.net><br clear="none"><strong>Subject:</strong> Re:
[Tigers] Urban legend</p>
<p class="yiv2264497653MsoNormal"> </p>
<div>
<div>
<p class="yiv2264497653MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 24.0pt;">The demise
of the Sunbeam Tiger was that they did not sell very well. The USA import
regs for cars would require expensive modifications to the car. So in
February 1967 the decision was made to finish the cars that were in the line
and send them to Canada. Everything about not fitting a Chrysler engine
is just a</span> <span style="font-size: 24.0pt;">rumor.<br></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="yiv2264497653MsoNormal"><br></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="yqtfd32257"
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</blockquote>
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</div>
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