Letters, March 1966

American Fords quieter than Jaguars?

Sir,
The American market is probably the most important single Export target for any British motor manufacturer. And no company has worked harder to get a foothold in that market than Jaguar. Possibly your readers will be as surprised as I was to learn that Rob Walker, the eminent “British automotive sportsman,” (sic) has allowed his name to be used in a Ford advertisement, in which he expressed himself as astonished at the quiet-running of a 1966 American Ford, saying, “I believe this Ford of yours really is quieter!”. when comparing it with his Jaguar Mk 10.

This example I clipped from the Liberty Vindicator, a typical small-town American newspaper. This paper circulates in an oil-rich Texas area, just the sort of community that one would imagine the Jaguar salesmen are aiming at. And this advertisement will appear in similar newspapers all over the United States! (Another clipping, with similar comment, has since arrived from Ontario.-Ed.)

Presumably Mr. Walker was paid for this advertisement ? If so, it is even more regrettable that someone who has done so much in the past for Britain’s prestige in motor racing should now allow himself to be associated with such “knocking copy,” no matter how mild the criticism of the British car may be.

Let me hasten to add that I am not connected in any way with Jaguars, but am simply a pro-British enthusiast who feels that Mr. Walker has tarnished his good name by becoming involved in this publicity campaign.

London, N.W.8. Ivor R. Martin.
[The interesting point to us is whether the current American/Canadian Ford engines are quieter than the twin o.h.c. Jaguar power unit; in Mr. Walker’s view they would seem to be. Previously, of course, Ford claimed a lower sound level than was found, under given conditions, in the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud.-Ed.]