– Brian Glenn,
California Association of Tiger Owners
The 1966 official Rootes dealership directory lists over 500 authorized Rootes dealerships in the U.S., as well as dealerships across Canada. What are sorely missing from the Tiger records are: which dealerships received Tigers, how many, how often and what was their Port of Entry (P.O.E.) into the United States and Canada?
A limited amount of documentation has come to light that confirms several P.O.E. locations in the U.S. (see table below) and anecdotal data that indicate other North American ports. Documentation includes two British American Imports window stickers, one shipping manifest, one Chrysler-era window sticker and a photo from the first delivery of Tigers at Long Beach harbor. (See the images below)
Other likely P.O.E. US locations include New York, NY (Rootes US Headquarters and the headquarters of their US distributing company British American Imports, Inc.); Philadelphia, PA; Providence, RI; Pensacola, FL; New Orleans, LA; San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; and Tacoma, WA. Canadian P.O.E. locations likely include Toronto (Rootes Canada Headquarters), Montreal, and Vancouver (Rootes Canada Branch Offices).
We are requesting contributions from the Tiger community to increase the archival documentation and allow a more complete discussion on Tiger distribution throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Please direct document scans, photos, etc. to Me********@CA****.ORG. Further research into the Rootes P.O.E. is underway and includes the Library of Congress, shipping company archives and Lloyd’s of London, who insured Rootes.
All information, e.g., photo and scans of original documents (window stickers, shipping manifests, sales documents), regarding Rootes Port of Entry, dealerships and similar data is welcomed. Me********@CA****.ORG Keep on Tigering!
| P.O.E. | Document | Date | Destination | Car(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles/Long Beach, CA | Photo documentation via Karen Foster | 8/28/1964 | Various Southern California dealerships including Hi-Performance Motors | B9470040LRXFE (Others. See Tiger Tales 1/2-2022) |
| Boston, MA | British American Imports window sticker | nd | Import Auto, Inc. 4500 Ann Arbor Road Jackson, MI | B9471362LRXFE |
| Baltimore, MD | British American Imports window sticker | nd | Perrys Inc. P.O. Box 3524 Greensboro, NC | B9471741LRXFE |
| Houston, TX | Shipping Manifest | 9/22/1966 | British American Imports Houston, TX | B382000707LRXFE B382000782LRXFE |
| Newark, NJ | Chrysler window sticker | nd | Garden State Chrysler Imports, Inc., 3400 Black House Pike West Collingswood NJ | B382100163LRXFE |
