23 Jun 04
The poor man's Rolls-Royce is now a Rolls-Royce. Or, to be more precise, a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. Once those who aspired to champagne luxury but only possessed a beer barrel pocket looked to lesser makes of English luxury car like the big Rover P5B, Daimler Majestic Major or some pretentious Vanden Plas-trimmed device. These were the ultimate ten bob millionaire machines in which one could waft around with delusions of grandeur. They were nice cars but really just middle market suburban baubles that were nothing like the Real Thing. A Silver Shadow lived in a different universe of refinement, sophistication - and price. Now the situation is reversed. A good P5, Majestic Major or VDP will make more than the equivalent Silver Shadow as the market runs scared from perceptions of colossal thirst and high maintenance costs.
It's a supply and demand thing too. As the Shadows' cut-price and less fastidiously built (and usually maintained) 'rivals' have become increasingly rusty and rare the mostly good ones that remain have tended to command a premium. The Shadow, in contrast, is still fairly ubiquitous because of its intrinsic quality and the fact that 30,000 were built in a 15-year production run. For many owners they are still working cars, not just as sad old whitewashed wedding car hacks either.
Thus, Shadow prices have come down to a level where you can buy one on your credit card and not really worry about it. So that's what I've done; bought a three-grand Roller. Madness? Possibly. But up to now this bargain Rolls-Royce has been a total pleasure.
