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Re: [Tigers] Urban legend

To: tigers@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: [Tigers] Urban legend
From: Ken via Tigers <tigers@autox.team.net>
Date: Sun, 8 Mar 2020 14:39:35 -0600
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Thank you Buck for settling this matter. Wish that I could spend time 
going through the archives!

Ken Tisdale

On 3/8/2020 12:30 PM, Buck Trippel via Tigers wrote:
>
> The best and most authoritative answers to the why the Tiger was 
> discontinued that Iâ??ve found are in the collection of Papworth papers 
> housed in the Culture Coventry Archive at the Herbert Museum in Coventry.
>
> Mr Papworth was a very high level â??plannerâ?? 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. Iâ??ve spent several days 
> reading them and want to go back.
>
> Mr. Papworth lays out a very comprehensive Tiger story. The Tiger 
> represented only 2% of Rootesâ?? sales and was consequentially just a 
> blip on managementâ??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 14â?? 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 camelâ??s back. But Papworth 
> also outlines other contributing issues.
>
> Rootes engineers determined that Chrysler V8s would not fit in a 
> Tiger. They explored alternatives including one that would have been 
> built a new â??Tigerâ?? with fiberglass body in the USA. Obviously none of 
> those alternatives worked out.
>
> 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, â??Apexâ??, had been designed 
> and was very close to production when a sub-contractor tripled the 
> initial cost estimate for its fiberglass body. That ended Rootesâ?? 
> attempt at a replacement sportscar.
>
> The US government had long imposed standards for the cars it purchased 
> for government use â?? 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.
>
> 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.
>
> Papworth cites all of these factors in the decision to end Tiger 
> production.
>
> Buck Trippel
>
> *From:* Tigers <tigers-bounces@autox.team.net> *On Behalf Of *Ross 
> Hulse via Tigers
> *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
>
> 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 rumor.
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> tigers@autox.team.net
>
> Donate: http://www.team.net/donate.html
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>
>
-- 
Ken Tisdale
303-807-5488


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    <p>Thank you Buck for settling this matter. Wish that I could spend
      time going through the archives!</p>
    <p>Ken Tisdale<br>
    </p>
    <div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 3/8/2020 12:30 PM, Buck Trippel via
      Tigers wrote:<br>
    </div>
    <blockquote type="cite"
      cite="mid:006201d5f577$9bac2080$d3046180$@verizon.net">
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      <div class="WordSection1">
        <p class="MsoNormal">The best and most authoritative answers to
          the why the Tiger was discontinued that Iâ??ve found are in the
          collection of Papworth papers housed in the Culture Coventry
          Archive at the Herbert Museum in Coventry.<o:p></o:p></p>
        <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
        <p class="MsoNormal">Mr Papworth was a very high level â??plannerâ??
          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. Iâ??ve spent several days reading them and
          want to go back. <o:p></o:p></p>
        <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
        <p class="MsoNormal">Mr. Papworth lays out a very comprehensive
          Tiger story. The Tiger represented only 2% of Rootesâ?? sales
          and was consequentially just a blip on managementâ??s attention.
          Tigers were barely mentioned in board meetings as the high
          production Imps and Hillmans dominated the discussions. The
          Mk1s &amp; 1As sold well. The Mk2 that was built was not the
          Mk2 that the engineers had designed and tested (with upgraded
          5-bolt 14â?? 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 camelâ??s back. But Papworth also outlines other
          contributing issues. <o:p></o:p></p>
        <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
        <p class="MsoNormal">Rootes engineers determined that Chrysler
          V8s would not fit in a Tiger. They explored alternatives
          including one that would have been built a new â??Tigerâ?? with
          fiberglass body in the USA. Obviously none of those
          alternatives worked out.<o:p></o:p></p>
        <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
        <p class="MsoNormal">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, â??Apexâ??, had been designed and was very
          close to production when a sub-contractor tripled the initial
          cost estimate for its fiberglass body. That ended Rootesâ??
          attempt at a replacement sportscar.<o:p></o:p></p>
        <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
        <p class="MsoNormal">The US government had long imposed
          standards for the cars it purchased for government use â?? 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. <o:p></o:p></p>
        <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
        <p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
        <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
        <p class="MsoNormal">Papworth cites all of these factors in the
          decision to end Tiger production.<o:p></o:p></p>
        <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
        <p class="MsoNormal">Buck Trippel<o:p></o:p></p>
        <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
        <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
        <p class="MsoNormal"><b>From:</b> Tigers
          <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" 
href="mailto:tigers-bounces@autox.team.net";>&lt;tigers-bounces@autox.team.net&gt;</a>
 <b>On Behalf Of </b>Ross
          Hulse via Tigers<br>
          <b>Sent:</b> Sunday, March 8, 2020 1:57 AM<br>
          <b>To:</b> Curt Bowland <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" 
href="mailto:cbowland@msn.com";>&lt;cbowland@msn.com&gt;</a><br>
          <b>Cc:</b> tigers <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" 
href="mailto:tigers@autox.team.net";>&lt;tigers@autox.team.net&gt;</a><br>
          <b>Subject:</b> Re: [Tigers] Urban legend<o:p></o:p></p>
        <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
        <div>
          <div>
            <p class="MsoNormal"><span
                style="font-size:24.0pt;font-family:&quot;Times New
                Roman&quot;,serif">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;font-family:&quot;Times New
                Roman&quot;,serif">rumor. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
          </div>
        </div>
        <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
      </div>
      <br>
      <fieldset class="mimeAttachmentHeader"></fieldset>
      <pre class="moz-quote-pre" 
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    <pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">-- 
Ken Tisdale
303-807-5488</pre>
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