e-Chuck:
I don't think anyone was confused by Herb's post, but please don't forget to sign off using your city and State! ;-)
People, it's very simple: if you like something, vote with your wallet, and buy it. If you don't like it, don't buy it. The Market will take care of most of the rest!!
Can't we all just get along? OK, big group hug now, c'mon, you know you want to....
That's better......
Greg Parker Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
P.S. Herb, I'm with ya about 98% throughout all of this overblown bologna, but IIRC the New Beetle is built in Puebla, Mexico and sold here in the US....
P.P.S. See some of you at the VeloSwap in Denver this weekend....
P.P.P.S. This is a little OT, but relevant to this "country of origin" discussion: several years ago, Ford started putting Mexico-built engines in their Mercury Grand Marquis, and then petitioned the US Government to classify it as an Imported car because it had less than 75% Domestic content (the minimum point for consideration for "Domestic-built" for the Honda, Toyota, Nissan, etc, transplants' vehicles built in the US). Bottom line: the Ford product that had perhaps the highest percentage of died-in-the-wool "buy American" owners officially became an Imported Vehicle!!! What a country!
(It was done to get the gas-guzzling vehicle out of their Corporate Average Fuel Economy rating - it worked).
In a message dated 10/24/02 8:33:03 PM Eastern Daylight Time, classicrendezvous-request@bikelist.org writes:
> Message: 18
> Date: Thu, 24 Oct 2002 16:55:59 -0700
> From: Chuck Schmidt <chuckschmidt@earthlink.net>
> Reply-To: chuckschmidt@earthlink.net
> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Subject: Re: [CR]Re: Classicrendezvous digest, Vol 1 #1792 - 18 msgs
>
> Herb, not my post actually. A little more care in quoting posts perhaps?
>
> Chuck Schmidt
>
> Herb Langston wrote:
> >
> > Chuck Schmidt wrote:
> > >Many Volkswagens (and I believe Audis) are built in Mexico. Wouldn't
> > >surprise me if the Porsches with VW engines are built there as well.
> >
> > But Porsches are not made there, and the kind of people who would own a
> > Porsche want the German pedigree that goes with it.
> >
> > VW and Audi (both clients of mine, who I have the highest respect for) do
> > not sell Mexican-made cars anywhere but Mexico. That is purely a marketing
> > decision based on knowing what the U.S. VW/Audi buyer wants, which is a
> > German-made car. (It's also an EPA decision, but that is something that
> > could be re-engineered).
> >
> > >>....and would people buy BMWs if they were made in the USA? Uhhh,
> > >yeah!
> >
> > I wouldn't. Mine is 99.9% Made in Deutschland (the horn was made in
> France).
> >
> > Jeez! My whole point was whether or not "I" would buy a French marque not
> > made in France, not whether or not everyone else should. I could care less
> > what other people spend their money on.
> >
> > I want my Chianti from Italy. I don't care where my table wine is made.
> And
> > I don't care what everyone else drinks.
> >
> > Herb Langston
> > Evanston, IL