Welcome To The Electrolux Segment

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

How many people do you think called their neighborhood Rolls Royce dealer and asked: “Do you have a plug-in Phantom?” Never mind. BMW-owned Rolls Royce shows one anyway at the Geneva Autoshow. Don’t worry, they don’t really mean it, it’s a prototype only.

According to Automobilwoche [sub], the nearly 20 foot long Phantom require a hard look to reveal its electric inner life. From the outside, there is only a Lucite Emily that glows in electric blue. Instead of a gas filler, there is an illuminated socket for the charger plug. That’s it.

Rolls Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös (now that’s a nice British name) didn’t want to tell Automobilwoche what’s under the hood (possibly nothing at all yet). He assured the German industry rag that the plug-in phantom will have “sufficient range” and will be “comfortable to drive.” That’s reassuring.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Obbop Obbop on Feb 21, 2011

    "Electrolux" Ma used an Electrolux canister-type vacuum in her shanty back in the 60s. Squat with plain metal rods running the length of the unit vice wheels. Hard on hardwood floors. Reliable and relegated to garage duty after an upright beater-bar-style unit obtained. Electrolux vac eventually disappeared some time in the mid-70s but where? I dunno'. I wonder how many brazillians of shed skin cells passed into its maw? The upright freezer-on-top NEW!!!! fridge' bought for the shanty when I bought the fridge-lacking shanty turned out to be a "it sucks" unit. The it sucks tendency of the vac was a source of joy but the horrors with the fridge led to disgruntledness!!!!!!!! Sigh.... Avoiding the lengthy tale of sadness, woe and frustration, (HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The crowd screams with joy) But, the EVENTUAL fix after numerous attempts, lengthy waits for parts and...... a fix involving ALTERING the unit in a way that created a one-off fridge, unlike what came out of the factory!!!!!!!!!!!! Of course, the shanty has unique fridge unlike anything the commoner herd possesses!!!!!!!!!!!!! I should charge folks admission to view it!!!!!!!! And a quarter to me for every pic taken!!!!!!!!!! The moral of my woeful tale; beware buying an Electrolux fridge (name upon fridge will likely be a different name, one of several the firm hides behind, some apparently purchased just to confuse the consumers... in my opinion). Research before buying to determine if the fridge-make you are considering buying IS actually an Electrolux. Live and learn!!!!! The "Vega" of refrigerators? Wanna' buy a pic? Love, Obbop

  • Philadlj Philadlj on Feb 21, 2011

    My family is an Electrolux family. My brand-loyal dad would never buy anything else. They're really heavy and really loud, but they just...keep...working. I'm talking about vacuum cleaners, by the way.

  • Fincar1 Fincar1 on Feb 21, 2011

    Ah yes, Electrolux refrigerators. Brand extensions live on...who can forget Hotpoint refrigerators and Frigidaire stoves?

  • Blowfish Blowfish on Feb 21, 2011

    F H Royce started his business in Electric motors. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Henry_Royce Whatever is rightly done , however humble is noble. I can see a Hybrid RR as to save some un-used energy when the braking as being applied. I suppose someday the hybrids will have a step up gear to multiply the speed of the motor when the car is in braking mode, so the motor gets to spins at a much higher speed 1) to generate more electrical energy back into the batteries. 2) rely less on brake pads, but ultimately we do need a good braking system to haul a car to a grinding halt if needed. Nowadays engineers can design a gear box to multiply the torque for the motor to start and spin fast when trying to recapture the kinetic energy. Most say the elec motor have massive torque just no need to multiply torque when getting off the line. For a total EV in a RR is a bit absurd. Pound for pound a battery car can never be as efficient range wise as a benzene engine. Oil burner is very much out of the question for a car sold for 1/3 to 1/2 a mil. Oel burners can be very quiet, not so sure if the random shaking had been totally addressed yet.

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