By Leftlane Staff
Friday, Mar 3rd, 2006 @ 9:31 am

British auto columnist Jeremy Clarkson has tackles the issue of patriotism and car buying in a new article published this week. “If it was the British workforce that the customer was trying to support, then why not buy a Nissan or a Toyota or a Honda ? If it wasn’t the workforce, perhaps it was the designers. So why not buy a Ford or a Renault or an Audi or indeed anything that takes your fancy; because just about every car firm in the world employs a Brit somewhere in the styling department,” he says. Bentley is German, Rover is Chinese, Aston is reasonably British, but American owned. The Ford GT has an Aston steering rack. “Does that make it British?” The same questions plague many North Americans, too. Thousands of Americans are employed by Asian carmakers. Many American brands use Asian components. Daimler Chrysler is at least half German. The 300C, Charger, and eventually the Challenger all ride on a Mercedes-derrived platform. So what is American, British, or Asian? Is patriotism in the automotive segment possible anymore?

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