I have just read that Tata motors, the biggest Auto maker in India, has recently bought the luxury english brands Jaguar and Land Rover, which were formerly part of the Ford Motor Company.
It sounds like just another Economy news. But then again, could there be some form of poetic justice in the fact that a company from a nation that used to be a colony of one of the greatest european empires, now owns the factories that make the cars that used to be exclusive status symbols for the english elite?
I wonder what would Gandhi think of this. :-)
Hmmm
If he was alive, Gandhi might mull it over and realize that the previous owner, the Ford Motor Company, is also from a nation that used to be a colony of that same great European empire. That separation was not passive.
;) <-----
Bill
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Popular opinion is the greatest lie in the world.
Thomas Carlyle
you're right
First it was at the hand of a nation that attained its independence in the XVIIIth century, and now it's at the hands of a nation that became independent in the XXth.
But still, I can't help feeling this news deliciously surreal; like the final scene of Tim Burton's movie "Mars Ataacks", where they show the White House in ruins, and a mariachi group is playing the american national anthem!! ;-)
Tata is the maker of the cheapest car in the world, so I guess that means the fastest way to get rich is if you focus on the poorer sectors, rather than the posh niches.
Incidentally, I recently read Indians are buying cars at such a fast pace, they don't even KNOW how to drive the first time they go out in the street! So insurance companies are going to have a field day there :-)
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It's not the depth of the rabbit hole that bugs me...
It's all the rabbit SH*T you stumble over on your way down!!!
Red Pill Junkie
cheap cars
I am sure most people are familiar with the origin of Volkswagen. They used to make real cheap cars, that didn't work that great, but were easy to fix.
They now own Bentley.
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if everything is under control, you are not going fast enough (Mario Andretti)
the new "car of the people"
The volkswagen "Beetle" was the most popular car in Mexico for at least 5 decades. We called it "Vocho"; and I suppose it was the best-selling car in the whole Third World.
Recently VW unveiled its concept car for the new "car of the people". Do you think they will succeed to have the mots popular and affordable car in the market?
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It's not the depth of the rabbit hole that bugs me...
It's all the rabbit SH*T you stumble over on your way down!!!
Red Pill Junkie
not sure
I haven't heard of this new concept car, for the low end of the market. I read english language and german language news mostly, because I don't know enough spanish. It is a weakness (seriously) that people discover when they know two languages - you know how much you are missing. The one-language people don't know this.
What I have seen from most european car companies is the eco stuff. Less fuel consumption, less CO2, less pollution and those kinds of laudable things. But what they come up with seems really expensive, so the objectives are not the same.
Apart from this, I remember the Citroen 2CV, a car even cheaper than the Beetle, and even worse.
But cheaper. The owners of these had bumper stickers with messages like "Rolls Royce - Never Again !"
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if everything is under control, you are not going fast enough (Mario Andretti)
check this
This is the concept car I was referring to, earthling.
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It's not the depth of the rabbit hole that bugs me...
It's all the rabbit SH*T you stumble over on your way down!!!
Red Pill Junkie
The (former) Empire Strikes Back
Hello RPJ,
Yes i smiled when those posh carbrands were takenover by an Indian company, that said Tata Steel is not just another company. They may have launched the cheapest car recently but they have much more up their sleeve, in 1913 they founded a city for their workers...have a look
Jamshedpur(TaTa steel city) , you don't see much of that kind of enlightenement elsewhere...
A Man Can Not Begin To Learn That Which He Thinks He Already Knows (Epictetus)
Brit Cars
Good morning everyone,
Good to know all those formerly Brit car brands still make people write, no matter who owns them. As for all those Indian companies, etc, it would be interesting to trace the money and see just who, exactly, does own them.
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Reality, like time, is relative to the observer
Anthony North
of course
Maybe most of Tata's invest money is foreign, but still...
It would be interesing to know the reacion of people who actually own these kind of luxury cars, if hey found out the company that is goiing to make them now is from India. Would they feel that their posessions are now devalued somehow as symbols of status?
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It's not the depth of the rabbit hole that bugs me...
It's all the rabbit SH*T you stumble over on your way down!!!
Red Pill Junkie
thanks
thanks for the input Firstborn, that city sounds like an interestig social experiment. It would be great to know how it is like to live there.
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It's not the depth of the rabbit hole that bugs me...
It's all the rabbit SH*T you stumble over on your way down!!!
Red Pill Junkie
Rolls Royce
Hi Red,
I think the take-over of Rolls Royce was the defining moment here. After the shock of that, it didn't really matter. Apart from that, you don't see those luxury cars much nowadays over here. Stretch limos and Porsche became the symbols :-(
As for the worry over India, why should those toff gentry worry as they ride in their jodhpurs, sleep in their pyjamas, and holiday in their bungalow, sunning themselves on the verandah? :-)
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Reality, like time, is relative to the observer
Anthony North