1984 Rolls Royce Silver Spur
Serial Number: SCAZN42A03ECX08770
Engine No.: 08770
Exterior Color: Ocean Blue/Dark Blue padded roof
Interior Color: Dark Blue
Assembly Plant: Crewe, Cheshire, England
Assembly Date: January 1984
Dealership: Charles Schmitt & Co., St. Louis, MO
Original Order Date: September 13, 1983
Delivery Date to Dealer: March 20, 1984
Shipped: via MeadowsFreight Limited to Lyndhurst, NJ on “DART AMERICANA”
Original Owner: Elmer Alvin Maas, Saratoga, CA
Serviced by: Cerrito Motorcoach Limited, San Jose, CA/Los Gatos, CA
Backstory
Both my 1938 Chrysler Imperial Lebaron Limousine and the 1980 Mercedes Benz 450SL I previously owned were acquired from Daniel Schmitt & Co., a classic and exotic car dealership in St. Louis, MO. Daniel Schmitt’s father, Charles Schmitt, was also a luxury and collector car dealer, with showrooms in St. Louis and Beverly Hills (coincidentally, in 1985 his inventory included the 1938 Chrysler I purchased from his son 35 years—and multiple changes in ownership—later). In the early to mid-1980’s, Charles Schmitt operated a leading U.S.Rolls-Royce franchise, driving sales by offering steep discounts to buyers across the country, to the consternation of both Rolls-Royce and its other U.S. franchisees. A 1983 front-page profile in the Wall Street Journal highlighting his sales practices generated a spike in nationwide buyer inquiries, prompted howls of protest from his competitors, and eventually led Rolls-Royce to revoke his franchise.
Among the Wall Street Journal subscribers intrigued by the Schmitt article was Elmer Alvin Maas, a successful developer and manager of hotels and apartments in the Silicon Valley area south of San Francisco. Al, as he was known, had recently ordered a new Rolls-Royce for his wife from the local Rolls-Royce dealer, Cerrito Motorcoach Ltd. in San Jose, but discovered he could purchase the same vehicle through Schmitt for thousands less. He
promptly cancelled the order with Cerrito and purchased his new Silver Spur from the Schmitt dealership. His wife’s new chariot arrived in New Jersey from Great Britian six months later, and was shipped by Schmitt out to California. Although deprived of the sale, Cerrito Motorcoach provided all maintenance and repair services once the vehicle reached the Maas home in Saratoga.
The Silver Spur provided an interesting chapter in the unique story of the Maas’s relationship. In early 1980, Al—twice divorced and with grown children—was eager to find a new spouse. Busy with work and unenthused with the prospect of dating at age 56, he turned to a method that worked well for him in business: Advertising. On Valentine’s Day, he placed a classified ad in the local San Jose papers with an attention-grabbing heading in large type-face: “NEW WIFE WANTED.” He received 150 replies, and met with 50 of those candidates over individual dinner dates. By the end of the year, he had found and married his new bride.
By 1983, the Maas Family had expanded to include three small children. The Silver Spur, his wife recalled, was Al’s concept of a “family car.” She reveled in piloting the large British luxury sedan through the local Taco Bell drive-through, and her kids enjoyed devouring their fast-food lunches off polished wood-grain folding picnic tray tables in the backseat. In tribute to their unusual courtship, Al ordered personalized license plates for the Rolls-Royce reading “AD4WIFE.”
A rear-end collision at a stoplight resulted in the Rolls-Royce being replaced after a few years. The repaired version enjoyed a second life under the stewardship of a businessman in the San Francisco East Bay. Upon his passing in 2020, the car was offered for sale at a classic car dealer in the area. I assumed ownership in 2021.