DSand95510(at)aol.com wrote:
>
> In a message dated 97-07-09 03:07:07 EDT, msmall(at)roanoke.infi.net (Marc James
> Small) writes:
>
> >
> >The downfall of Sunbeam was its purchase by the first Baron Rootes and its
> >merger into the Rootes group. At that point, it quit being the private
> >cars of the Royal Family.
>
> Hmmmm. Everything I've read about the S-T-D combine suggests they hugely
> overspent their borrowed capital on racing endeavors. When the financial
> crash of the early 1930's came along, they were a dead duck. Like most of
> marques that Rootes purchased, if Rootes hadn't done it, we wouldn't have
> seen another Sunbeam-badged car on the road ever again.
>
> Dick Sanders
> Seattle, WA
Maybe not. William Lyons' SS Cars had worked out a deal to buy Sunbeam
when Billy Rootes stepped in and pulled the rug out from under him.
Lyons wanted the name because SS was not very PC at the time. Had Rootes
not succeeded Sunbeam would most likely still exist today.
Russell
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