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W.O.
Bentley was only at the helm of Bentley for 12 short years. During
that time, however, Bentley dominated the racing world with
innumerable wins.
Bentley won at Le Mans five times in a row. The Drivers were
called the "Bentley Boys." Barnato, the best known of the Boys
drove his 6.5 Bentley from Nice to London, competing against the
"Blue Train" and beating the train to Victoria Station by 4
hours.
Photos
were taken at Laguna Seca at the Monterey historic Races
in 2001 when Bentley was the featured mark.
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W.O. BENTLEY
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In 1931,
Bentley Motors was in receivership and Rolls Royce took over.
Even if W.O. Bentley was under contract until 1935, the Bentleys were
Rolls Royce in disguise, sporting a different grille and once in a while
some light modifications. A few Bentleys such as the Embirico designed by
Paulin and bodied by Pourtout, and the Continental bodied by Parkward and
Mulliner were amazing automobiles.
During the Rolls Royce ownership, the cars were still designed and
manufactured in England, and Don Nordeman wrote in AQ "The song is
ended, but the melody lingers on."
In 1998
Bentley was absorbed by Volkswagen, and Rolls Royce by
BMW. A long time since the "Dixie" was built under license from
Austin, Volkswagen is today making "Exotic People Cars," such as the
Bentley, Bugatti, and Lamborghini.
The Engine of the new Bentley Continental is based on the "W" engine
made by Volkswagen with some input from Audi. Both the engine and the body
are manufactured in Germany, and assembled at the Crewe plant in England.
Making the Bentley a British product.
The Bentley Continental (British or a German product) is a very nice car
with superior engineering. Unfortunately the brain (computer) of the car
is a gremlin named "Kessy." Kessy
is also of German descent.
When Kessy has a stroke, the Bentley has brain damage, displaying a
mysterious warning "steering work needed." The result is immobility:
No ignition, no steering, four wheels locked and side effects such as non
functioning phone and windows.
The
first occurrence was late at night in a parking lot. Even the experts from
the dealership could not unlock the wheels, and the Bentley was dragged on
a flat bed after spraying silicone fluid on the asphalt and on the tires.
At the Dimmitt Dealership, a new brain "Kessy 2" shipped directly from
England was implanted.
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Unfortunately,
a few weeks later Kessy 2 had
a stroke, but this time inside a building. The recovery of the car ( see
video) was vastly improved, placed on dollies the
Bentley was towed to Dimmitt. This time the cause of death was
diagnosed as drowning, from drains being plugged by leaves and water
accumulating below the windshield. But, no screen was installed to
prevent the problem from reoccurring.
After picking up Kessy 3, we decided to take the Bentley out for
Diner at the Tampa International Plaza. Once again, the Bentley,
this time with Kessy 3 left us to hitchhike home at midnight. The
recovery, now a well tuned process, was done the following day and
the Bentley went once more to receive another transplant at Dimmitt. |
CLICK
HERE FOR BENTLEY TOW VIDEO
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Alain Cerf
acerf@polypack.com
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Kessy #4 is less than one week old and still in good shape, Oh! But
wait! The right side window does not close anymore! So my Bentley is
once again going home to Dimmitt, it used to visit, now it calls the
dealership home.
It is a real shame that a car with great mechanical engineering has
to be turned into junk metal by awful electronics. In addition to
the major problems with Kessy, the car has been plagued with minor
electronic problems since delivery, such as false readings like: No
oil pressure, four flat tires, windows not closing, phone not
working, radio being very temperamental, automatic mode for
wipers...
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UPDATE - August 29, 2006
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After less than 250 miles,
Kessy #4 is not communicating.
Time for another trip home to Dimmitt.
Click below to see the latest in our series
of towing videos.
TOWING
VIDEO #2
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AND
THE BENTLEY COMPANY?
THEY REFUSE TO RESPOND!
THEY SIMPLY COULDN'T CARE LESS! |
