3) BUDGET BRAKES

This is probably the most dramatic example of how the car industry sources its parts. RollsRoyce was famously loathe to rely on external suppliers in order to maintain its reputation for quality, even manufacturing its own nuts and bolts until well into the 1970s. But as the motor industry changed it had to start leaning on others. The Silver Shadow famously used suspension and brake technology licensed from Citroën (but made by Rolls-Royce), but the last link in that fancy braking system came from very humble stock – the sales rep’s favourite steed, the MkIII Ford Cortina. Yes, both the Cortina and the Rolls-Royce use the G16 front brake calliper (and the standard-fit pads) from industry supplier Girling, the only difference being that the Silver Shadow uses two callipers per wheel rather than one. This state of affairs continued into the early days of the Bentley Turbo R. But even allowing for the fact that the Crewe car has twice the number of pads as the one from Dagenham it’s still possible to buy a pad set for half the price if you source ‘Ford’ ones rather than ‘Rolls-Royce’ ones.