Rolls call

Kimberley McGee

Thursday, Feb. 17, 2000 | 8:39 a.m.

A Rolls by any other name would just not be as sweet.

The name Rolls-Royce is synonymous with good taste and elegance, and there are quite a few being driven around this flashy city.

A Las Vegas couple, avid Rolls-Royce collectors for three decades, want to bring Rolls lovers together by establishing the first Nevada chapter of the official Rolls-Royce Owners Club.

"We wanted a club here to bring information and show our cars," said Norman Wolfson, the 24 Karat Region Rolls-Royce Owners Club regional chairman. His region currently includes Nevada and might expand to other Western states.

"Even though we are living in the desert we didn't want to live in a cultural desert as well," Beverly Wolfson, Norman's wife and club secretary candidate, said. "(Rolls collectors) like to get together, we like to socialize, we like to show our cars."

There are almost 7,000 registered Rolls-Royces in the United States, and 45 in Nevada, two of which belong to the Wolfsons. It's difficult to get an accurate count of how many Rolls-Royces are actually in the state because many were originally registered outside Nevada.

Rolls owners share a loyal attachment to their cars.

"It's a member of the family, like a pet, I guess," Beverly said. "There is a love, an admiration and respect for these cars."

The Wolfsons own two models of Rolls-Royces: a green Bentley (a company owned by Rolls-Royce since 1931) and a smokey-blue Rolls. Both have been under the careful custody of the couple since the '60s. Over the years the pair have bought and sold Rolls and tracked where and who has them after they have been sold.

"Owning a Rolls is an experience," Beverly Wolfson said.

The cars' history began humbly when two English chums, Frederick Henry Royce and Charles Stewart Rolls, created the first model in 1904. They were built in stages -- the two partners would build the chassis and the engine and a coach maker would create a specific design, catered to the person who ordered the car. The polished piece would be ready in six months to a few years after the coach maker, the Rolls designer et al. were happy with the final product.

"Every Rolls Royce and Bentley ever made is considered a classic car by the Classic Car Club of America, (which) is the final word on cars," Beverly Wolfson said. "They are strong. They stand for history, they stand for strength and they don't ever stop."

Bentleys, with a rounded version of the Rolls' large, silver, squared grille, went into production in 1921. They are a jauntier version of the Rolls- Royce's upper-crust image.

Norman Wolfson rescued his 1935 Bentley from an inattentive collector in 1967. "It was sitting out in the desert not running," he said. "It was originally from Scotland."

Each car has a lineage that can usually be traced back to the original owner through the National Rolls-Royce Owners Club. "It reminds me of the genealogy of the Mormon church," Beverly Wolfson said. "They know just about who has ever owned any one of these interesting cars."

Norman Wolfson's oversized garage is lined with spare belts of all sizes, hose rings, spare keys and headlights, among other parts tucked away in the hundreds of clear-windowed drawers in his workshop. There appears to be nothing that he has ever found worthless.

"You never know," he said, noting that he became hooked on the very first car he bought, a 1935 Buick.

"I've always been interested in cars. I like fine machinery," said Norman Wolfson, who makes any tools or parts he may need to repair and restore his two massive cars. " The Rolls-Royce is just a piece of machinery, but it's one of the finer pieces of machinery."

As she stands between the cars, Beverly Wolfson is dwarfed by the gleaming blue '53 Rolls and the convertible-top Bentley. "This one we just call Bentley, it's just a good name. This one is Romeo. I love this car. This car has had a lot of interesting experiences.

"Get in," she tells this reporter. "It's an experience, my dear."

The back seat is upholestered in soft, supple black leather with two small, round pillows resting on either side. Delicate silver vases mounted on each door hold roses. A tortoise-shell bar is tucked behind the voluminous driver's seat and opens to reveal two original crystal decanters and a set of highball glasses. A row of buttons raise or lower the windows, lock the doors and turn on heat or air conditioning, a luxury in 1953.

"This particular (car) won four times as the best design in Earlspoint, England, when they came out with the design of the car because the design is quite unique," Beverly Wolfson said. "Each car has its own personality and history about it."

They have had some famous Rolls-Royces in their collection over the years, she added, but the one that gets the most attention is the one they no longer own. But they still talk about it as if they do.

"The one that has had the most adventure is now owned by Mohamed Al Fayed from London, the owner of Harrods," Beverly Wolfson said. "That car has been all over the world. It's a car of the nobility. We bought the car many years ago because the pedigree was fascinating. It had quite a story."

The youngest magistrate of West Minster, England, Sir Herbert Smith had the car built for him in the late 1930s. As World War II geared up, young Sir Smith joined the Royal Air Force. He was shot down over Australia during his loyal, royal service.

"Norman felt it would be appropriate for the car to go to Australia because that's where its owner, its designer, had been shot down by the Japanese," Beverly Wolfson said -- but she wasn't happy.

"I didn't want to sell the car," she said. "I loved that car. It had the flagpole for the royal family flag, the whole bit. It was a formal town car. A very, very magnificent car."

A few years ago an Australian car collector convinced the Wolfsons to sell the sapphire-blue Rolls to add to his collection. However, the collector recently had some business shortcomings and sold the car at Christies auction house in Melbourne, Australia.

"We did some research, some detective work, and found that he did sell the car to Mr. Fayed," Beverly Wolfson said. "The car has gone home, back to England where she started. That's nice, fitting."

Another of the Wolfsons' Rolls had a cinematic career. Painted white by Paramount Pictures for a movie, the car starred opposite Shirley MacLaine and Robert Mitchum in "What a Way to Go" in 1964 and, in 1977, with Susan Sarandon in "The Other Side of Midnight."

Pictures of their past Rolls-Royces line the walls of Norman Wolfson's study: trips with Rolls-Royce clubs from California; a ride with friends; smiling women in '40s fashions standing by a regal Rolls.

"(Collectors) enjoy the camaraderie of being with people who are like-minded and enjoy restoring and maintaining, enjoying these wonderful cars," Beverly Wolfson said. "Most of these people who are into these cars collect more than one car."

The Wolfsons traveled to a national meeting of the Rolls-Royce Owners Club in San Francisco late last year to get permission from the organization to begin a local chapter in Nevada. "The purpose of the club is to contain as much information about each of these cars as we can," Beverly Wolfson said. "Everybody wants to know the history."

The national club has a large database of technical information and even lends tools to home mechanics tinkering with the moody machines. "The club itself is nice because people help each other out and give technical advice on how to fix their vehicles," she said. "If we can find a decent mechanic to take care of us, we'll share that.

"They built the best bodies and coaches of any other group, but they did not build very good machines. We have had a lot of comments about that."

But they knew how to build a beautiful body.

"It's very well made, very sturdy, distinctive and classy," Beverly Wolfson said. "They are generous works of art."

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