Charles Rolls met Henry Royce in 1904. Royce had created a car named the Royce and Rolls agreed to purchase and sell them. They then used the
name "Rolls-Royce" for the car. The Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, which came out in 1906, was responsible for the company's early successs.
During 1931, the company acquired rival car maker Bentley and the two cars were almost identical except for
the grills.
"One of the five most expensive cars in the U.S., the 2004 Rolls-Royce Phantom is over-the-top in just about every way.
Rolls' history and brand equity are the automakers' trump cards over its closest competitors in the ultra-luxury segment: DaimlerChrysler's Maybach brand and Volkwagen's Bentley."
The Corniche was Rolls-Royce's coupé and convertible version of the Silver Shadow produced between 1971 and 1996.
The model was assembled and finished in London at Mulliner Park Ward as continuation of the 1965 Silver Shadow coupe and 1967 drophead, with the Corniche name applied in 1971. The Corniche was also sold as a Bentley, though that model became known as the Continental in 1984. The first car to wear the Corniche name was a 1939 prototype based on the Bentley Mark V which was never produced because of the onset of World War II.
