"W. Ray Gibbons" says:
>Subject: Don't give them Spit...
>I believe that there is no import duty on british-made goods being
>reimported to their country of origin.
I believe you are wrong. Cars originally sold new to the US attract 25% import
duty plus 17.5% VAT when reimported here.
>I'm prejudiced, though, because I kind of resent the British
attitude.
>When it suited them, they sent us tons of british cars. They
couldn't
>unload them fast enough. "Here, American cousins," they said in
syrupy
>tones, "don't you want more Austin Americas? How about a few
thousand
>Singers done up to look almost like MGs?" Now when it suits them,
they
>want the best ones back.
Hey! Who got out of the bed the wrong side this morning?
Two points: 1) Sports cars were shipped to the US in the fifties because
that was the only way the manufacturers could get a steel allocation from
the Ministry of Supply - they could not sell in numbers to the home market.
2) US customers bought them because they wanted them - you make them sound
like unwilling third-world victims of a controlling mafia! The Austin America
(Austin 1100) was the best-selling car in the UK for many years. You can't
blame BMC for thinking it would compete with the Beetle (Bug).
Those that are shipped back to the UK are rebuilt and looked after. No one
in the UK is breaking (parting out) straight sports cars. Even the rot boxes
are being rebuilt.
Paul.
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