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On Monday Top Gear did a wonderful tribute to the British engineering. All in all its amazing to see what is still produced on that industrious island. It made me rather proud to be British.
I like Top Gear, and watched the episode on BBC America on Monday night. Seriously though, this episode was really embarrassing; they claimed "British manufacturing domination" and then proceeded to display Honda, Ford, Jaguar, BMW, Caterpillar, Tractors, Lotus etc because, get this... they have a British gearbox or brake pad!
Could you imagine the reaction if another country did the same thing? They then proceeded to show a long line of foreign, yes foreign cars, motorcycles and other vehicles lining the mall, proudly proclaiming how wonderful all this "Britishness" is.. I was frankly embarrassed by how pathetic the show's production was. The highlight then came with a display of the world showing every country (apart from France) that imported a British made good of some kind.. even it was a toothpick. Never mind that there are actually zero owned British car manufacturers, or that private investment is the lowest it's been for 50 years, or that manufacturing output is the lowest in 30 years, or that you know, we don't make British cars anymore!!
But, hey ho, who lets a bit if good ol self delusion get in the way of entertainment!!
The mountain town I live in, hosts the Greater Atlanta British Motorcycle Association every year for their "British in The Blue Ridge Rally". They come here for a few days and ride their vintage British motorcycles through the mountains. It looks like a lot of fun.
I like Top Gear, and watched the episode on BBC America on Monday night. Seriously though, this episode was really embarrassing; they claimed "British manufacturing domination" and then proceeded to display Honda, Ford, Jaguar, BMW, Caterpillar, Tractors, Lotus etc because, get this... they have a British gearbox or brake pad!
Could you imagine the reaction if another country did the same thing? They then proceeded to show a long line of foreign, yes foreign cars, motorcycles and other vehicles lining the mall, proudly proclaiming how wonderful all this "Britishness" is.. I was frankly embarrassed by how pathetic the show's production was. The highlight then came with a display of the world showing every country (apart from France) that imported a British made good of some kind.. even it was a toothpick. Never mind that there are actually zero owned British car manufacturers, or that private investment is the lowest it's been for 50 years, or that manufacturing output is the lowest in 30 years, or that you know, we don't make British cars anymore!!
But, hey ho, who lets a bit if good ol self delusion get in the way of entertainment!!
This is a rather un-necessary post isn't it Ian?? Still I am not really suprised to hear this sort of thing coming from you!!
Still it made me proud, I don't care who the owners of the companies are, the point was that the cars or parts of are being made in Britain. Lets face it in the US only Ford and GM are now completely US owned and a high percentage of their product is manufactured outside of the US and some parts come from overseas yet they are still touted as the 'all American' car/truck.
Britain has lost a lot over the years, many manufacturers went broke or sold out overseas but the names live on and they are still produced using the same high quality techniques as always which is why some people will always buy a Rolls Royce or even a Mini.
With China and the far east leading the way manufacturing everything else we buy its nice to take a moment to recognise that engineering isn't dead on our little island, it may have slowed down and the owners maybe overseas but the product is as good as ever.
It's called reality, or balance. Is this "sort of thing" untrue, or have I got it all wrong?
They may not be British cars or even British owned anymore, but they still have a large presence in the UK and car manufacturing is going up. We are exporting more cars than ever - in the 70s, half of cars made were never even exported. I see nothing wrong with celebrating the things manufactured in the UK - it is British people making it, and shows that the skill is there contrary to what people think.
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