Anyone watch that Evan Davis Made in Britain show last night?

[shaunbhoy]

I know UK built Nissans used to go for a premium in Japan.

A high premium or a low premium? We're talking Sunderland here.

[eek]

A high premium or a low premium? We're talking Sunderland here.

High. The Japanese don't care about toys in their cars as they get destroyed by their equivalent of the MOT and so higher spec Micra's were built in Sunderland and exported back.

[shaunbhoy]

High. The Japanese don't care about toys in their cars as they get destroyed by their equivalent of the MOT and so higher spec Micra's were built in Sunderland and exported back.

Why would anyone ever consider a Micra? I once had one as a rental vehicle whilst on a jolly....er I mean business trip...to the Isle of Man. Another guy and I decided to go round the TT Course in said Micra.
We'd have been quicker pinching a Tesco trolley and taking it in turns to push each other. And it would probably have been less embarrassing too.

[eek]

Why would anyone ever consider a Micra? I once had one as a rental vehicle whilst on a jolly....er I mean business trip...to the Isle of Man. Another guy and I decided to go round the TT Course in said Micra.
We'd have been quicker pinching a Tesco trolley and taking it in turns to push each other. And it would probably have been less embarrassing too.

Have you seen how much a Nissan Figaro is still worth. And all that is is a 1990 Micra with a full bodykit (it even has the crappier engine).

[BoredBloke]

High. The Japanese don't care about toys in their cars as they get destroyed by their equivalent of the MOT and so higher spec Micra's were built in Sunderland and exported back.

But their premium product was a folding bike, which while well engineered and constructed, is still a folding bike. A series of tubes and stuff which ultimately could be put together, possibly not as well, but a whole lot cheaper.

He seemed really smug the bike chap. As though it couldn't happen to his product! Well if we can make cars by robot I'm guessing a bike can't be too hard!

The other point that old Evan made which bugged me was about Tata and land Rover. So we make the things here, providing jobs etc in the UK while using their R&D money. But where do the profits go? Not here that's for sure!

[singhr]

Do the Beeb have some kind of deal with the military or is there some expenses scam where their presenters can claim 'travel costs' when making a documentary? Just about every tom dick and harry who makes a show these days get a spin in a jet, from the bloke with the rubbery lips who bangs on about hadron coliders to Evan 'face for radio' Davies. Having said that, I think the footage of Jeremy Clarkson puking in an F15 was worth every penny of my license fee.

[d000hg]

Fine, but the Chinese aren't stupid. What happens when they pinch the "small, high value sectors" too?

They won't be cheap any more.

[Fred Bloggs]

Yes it was their track - Felt he completely missed the point in the show. i.e. it's ok to let China have our volume manufacturing so long as we keep the small very high value sectors. Although he did touch on the fact that our manufacturing sector is far too small to sustain us.

That's exactly what they said in the 1960's about the UK motorcycle industry. In 1967 BSA was still the world's 2nd largest motorcycle maker, behind Honda. Less than 3 years later it was bankrupt.

[minestrone]

Manufacturing in this country is brand and geographically driven, the former is places like Aston Martin, Linn Hi Fi which will sell on the name and the latter is making things with work intensive mass production where the transporation cost of the final product outweighs the total cost to the total cost to the consumer (jap car plants in the north being the prime example).

Over the last 15 years we have sold off our bulk of brand manufacturing...

[gingerjedi]

But their premium product was a folding bike, which while well engineered and constructed, is still a folding bike. A series of tubes and stuff which ultimately could be put together, possibly not as well, but a whole lot cheaper.

He seemed really smug the bike chap. As though it couldn't happen to his product! Well if we can make cars by robot I'm guessing a bike can't be too hard!

You're missing the point, apparently they're 'de rigueur' for the city gent commuter.

If they were made in India or China the brand would lose its appeal.