In May 1951, six men founded the Rolls-Royce Owners Club in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, united by the desire to preserve, restore, and enjoy their British-built luxury cars. The first membership directory was issued in October of that year, with a paltry 212 names in it. Today, the RROC has more than 9,000 members worldwide.
The RROC, which today is appropriately enough based in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, is the only club to include both Rolls-Royces and Bentleys of all vintages, from the early years of the industry to the latest models. The mission of the RROC is to serve owners and admirers of Rolls-Royces and Bentleys, offer practical, historical, and technical information, and sponsor events for the famed British luxury cars.
Events
The premier club event is the annual week-long meet, which takes place each summer in a different region of the U.S. There are usually about 1,500 attendees, including owners and their families, who take part in workshops, driving tours, and dinners. The meet also hosts vendors of parts and memorabilia to fill all that trunk space on the way home. The highlight of the meet is Judging Day, where cars compete in three categories, Concours, Touring, and Preservation Class.
For the mechanically adventurous, the club offers technical seminars in conjunction with the Rolls-Royce Foundation, a research facility and museum located next door to RROC headquarters. How convenient. Topics of the seminars include repair, maintenance, and restoration of early and late models.
Driving tours are arranged at the national and regional club levels. The national driving events are usually a week long, while the regional tours tend to be weekend or even just one day in duration.
Regions and Societies
The RROC has a national headquarters in Pennsylvania, but there are 24 official Regions across the country and five Societies:
- Regions serve geographic areas -- like the Rocky Mountain Region, which includes Colorado and Utah, or the Rebel Region, which covers Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, and eastern Tennessee. Anyone who lives in the U.S. or Canada (even Manitoba) can find a Region-level RROC group to meet up with.
- Societies focus on specific models or eras of Rolls-Royce and Bentley autos. The Derby Bentley Society, for instance, caters to enthusiasts of the Bentleys built by Rolls-Royce between 1933 and 1939. The Modern Car Society is open to anyone who owns or is interested in Rolls-Royces or Bentleys built after 1967. “Modern” is a relative term, it seems, when a marque has been around for a century.
Publications
The RROC publishes a newsletter for its members, The Flying Lady, which includes technical tips as well as club announcements. Each Society produces its own newsletter as well, such as The New Phantom News, whose two or three editions each year communicate with members of the Phantom I Society.
The club has an established presence on the Internet as well, with a well-organized home page and links to each of the regional and society web pages, if they have them. Most do. Members can ask questions of other members on forums, upload pictures of their cars or recent Rolls events, and register for upcoming events online. Basic information is available for anyone with curiosity and a mouse, while some functions, like access to forums or past issues of The Flying Lady, are available only to members.
Contact
Rolls-Royce Owners' Club
191 Hempt Road
Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
(800) TRY-RROC
(that’s 879-7762)
rrochq@rroc.org
