Friday, June 17, 2016
Graybill vs Lerma
Thinking about a puzzle. In many cases the BEST versions of American cars were produced by foreign branches of the US automakers, and never brought here. We didn't get the good stuff even from our own companies.
Example 1: The Canadian Meteor was the BEST-looking Ford by a long shot. Peak Ford. Other Canadian variants weren't prettier than the original but offered more variety in sizes and engines.
Example 2: The Argentine IKA Torino took the neat but dull Rambler American and turned it into a dramatically beautiful sports machine with wood and leather interior. AMC in Mexico turned the Hornet into the Lerma, a snappy and roomy Euro-style hatchback.
Example 3: The Brazilian branch of Willys turned the drab Aero into the sharp modern Itamaraty, after Willys had stopped making sedans entirely in US.
These struck me as exceptions or violations of Graybill's Law. Maximal use of local skill made possible by globalism?
No. I was falling into the false binary created by the antinationalists. They force the question of trade into two endpoints. If you're trading at all, you're globalist. If you're not globalist, you want NoKo-style isolation.
Correct definition: Globalism is not JUST trade. Globalism is TREASONOUS USE OF TRADE. Globalism is using trade to destroy your own country.
These local specialties were SPECIFICALLY MOTIVATED by local-content laws. Canada and Argentina and Brazil and Mexico bought some parts and tooling from the US corporations, thus contributing to US profits; but they didn't simply take complete cars. They built their own cars using some of their own materials and designs because their governments insisted on SERVING THEIR OWN PEOPLE.
And the US carmakers didn't import those local specialties because the US automakers were also SERVING THEIR OWN WORKERS. Bringing in the variants would have taken work away from US factories.
Example 2: The Argentine IKA Torino took the neat but dull Rambler American and turned it into a dramatically beautiful sports machine with wood and leather interior. AMC in Mexico turned the Hornet into the Lerma, a snappy and roomy Euro-style hatchback.
Example 3: The Brazilian branch of Willys turned the drab Aero into the sharp modern Itamaraty, after Willys had stopped making sedans entirely in US.
These struck me as exceptions or violations of Graybill's Law. Maximal use of local skill made possible by globalism?
No. I was falling into the false binary created by the antinationalists. They force the question of trade into two endpoints. If you're trading at all, you're globalist. If you're not globalist, you want NoKo-style isolation.
Correct definition: Globalism is not JUST trade. Globalism is TREASONOUS USE OF TRADE. Globalism is using trade to destroy your own country.
These local specialties were SPECIFICALLY MOTIVATED by local-content laws. Canada and Argentina and Brazil and Mexico bought some parts and tooling from the US corporations, thus contributing to US profits; but they didn't simply take complete cars. They built their own cars using some of their own materials and designs because their governments insisted on SERVING THEIR OWN PEOPLE.
And the US carmakers didn't import those local specialties because the US automakers were also SERVING THEIR OWN WORKERS. Bringing in the variants would have taken work away from US factories.Labels: skill-estate
¶ 6:43 AM
