CHECKING IN WITH ... ROGER FLETCHER:

I sat in a Rolls Royce with a sticker price of $477,000 this week at some point during my interview with Roger Fletcher, the general manager of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Newport Beach, which also sells Lotus and Spyker models, and marveled at the beautiful machine.

If you really love cars you’ve got to want one in your driveway. But afterward I considered the vow of poverty I took as a journalist and realized I’ll never own one of those half-a-mil machines. Bummer.

OK, before I start crying, let’s check in with Roger…

So we hear you’re a big fan of the Beatles and that you’re friends with their great producer George Martin.

I met him in about 1991. His wife and my mother went to the same church and it was at the annual luncheon. I used to go down to his house quite a bit. He happens to quite like Rolls Royce and I subsequently sold him a couple of cars. Well, I remember I’d been here about a year and I get a call from him. “I need another car.” I said, “But I don’t live there [in England] anymore.” And he says, “Well, find me someone who can!”

So I put him in touch with a friend and he tells me later, “Oh, I met him at Abbey Road Studios,” which really did me in because I never got to see him there. And then he’s telling me Bono was there…

And you got the lithograph of the score for “Yesterday” from Martin, right?

Yes, (he says, pointing to it); it’s great it’s got the tea stains and all on it. You can see George wrote the music for the strings in here. Paul asked, “What’s that?” because he couldn’t read music at that time and George says, “That’s the music.” I said I must have that and he said, “I can’t sell you that.” Anyway, they made a limited edition, 500 of them, and it all went to charity.

A little birdie tells us your birthday’s coming up and it’s a special one with a Beatles flavor to it.

Yes, this month I’ll turn 64. I’m sure I’ll wake up to that song (“When I’m 64”). I know the boys (his sons James and Matthew) will have it cued up.

That’s cool, but you have to admit it wasn’t one of their best songs.

I don’t think it’s right up there, no. But I can remember when it came out. I must’ve been about 20 years old and I thought 64, that’s so far away.

Your sons are musicians and Beatlemaniacs, too?

Matthew plays keyboards for the local band Satisfaction.

And James, the drummer, also performs with Matt Costa, who played Coachella a couple of years ago.

My other son James also drums in Satisfaction (Fletcher added later not to forget to mention his wife, Eve. They have been married for 41 years).

Speaking of Coachella, McCartney’s the headline act the first night. Thinking of going?

I’d brave that for sure. At least I wouldn’t be the oldest one there. He would be!

On a more serious note, we understand how the economy is crushing the car industry, but we hear you’re bucking the trend and a recent move near John Wayne Airport hasn’t slowed the momentum.

Well, there we were on Pacific Coast Highway doing very well in the top 10, but renting it. Our only desire was to own our own building.

We were always looking for some place in Newport Beach, and in the middle of last year we were fortunate to find this place (at 4040 Campus Drive).

We’re investing in the future. Our business hasn’t slowed.

Rolls Royce sales went up 20% last year.

Business is definitely tough, but we deal with a very elite group of customers, and we had our best month ever in September (when the Lehman Brothers collapse spurred the economic crisis).

It’s tough, but it’s not all doom and gloom.

What’s the difference between English and American customers?

In Europe, when a customer orders their cars, five months later it comes in. In England when you ask when they want the car they look at a calendar.

In Newport Beach you ask a customer that and he looks at his watch.

How did you get started in the car business?

I got started in 1965. I started working for Rolls Royce in 1970. It just came naturally to me.

My father at the time worked at DuPont and he introduced me to someone who sold the company their fleet cars.

I wasn’t working and I had just returned from touring Europe for six months.

It was tough to get into the Rolls Royce business at the time.

But I heard about an opening in Central London from a friend and I got in.

PAUL ANDERSON is the Daily Pilot’s city editor. He may be reached at [email protected] or at (714) 966-4633.