Das Jeep

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Right on Pete!

oh cry me a river. wwII was over 50 years ago. additionally, how could you possiblly remember it? you weren't even there. if we don't move on and break down former barriers, we'll never progress. what happened to your "baby boomer" sense of self? are you another sell out?

I recommend some intense therapy for those that have had all that baggage instilled in them from their parents. I relived the battle of the bulge, and I was in 13 foreign countrys, serving my country...etc.etc..
I don't drag Viet Nam up in every conversation I encounter..Let it go for Christ's sake. I would rather hear about Marilyn Monroes re-incarnation. If you arent part of the solution, well...shut up. Mel Gibson in his rant had a valid point.. to quote Jack Nicholson "You can't handle the truth."
Jeeeeezus..

Nationalism in the world began to die in the 1850s. Today where your money is invested is of much more importance than to which flag you salute.
As far as Jeep goes, I believe it was Henry J. Kaiser of Willys fame, who won the original contract to supply the 1/4 ton GP (Jeep) weapons carrier to the US military, before the US finally entered WWII. Willys sold Jeep to American Motors, who then sold it to Chrysler. Daimler bought out Chrysler, no? Jeep now being produced by a foreign power is simply nothing new. Winchester, before that great arms maker's name was retired, had been owned by a Belgian firm.
Since WWII, US industry has always needed foreign competition to keep American products competitive. All one need do is to view the absence of quality in the US cars of the '60s and '70s, which I am convinced were programed to fall apart before the 3 year loans to buy them were paid off. If Prussian discipline helps keep Jeep afloat, then I say good-on-em! Because of Honda, Ford is a better product!
Please do not take my comments as being proof of a lack of patriotism. My family has served in every war from the American Revolution on forward.
The only action that could have kept Jeep out of the hands of foreign ownership would have been protectionism, which has always been proven to have been a gross failure.

There's no dispute here that competition benefits quality, nor that foreign ownership is necessarily bad. At issue is symbolism. Flaunting German ownership of Jeep, in my mind, is just revisionist history.

My father would be throwing his shoe at the TV because he had a first-hand, personal view of the atrocities committed during WWII. And thankfully, he passed those memories on to me. I take it as a personal goal, not to forget that 6 million Jews and countless others were murderded by the German state.

Should we forgive? Absolutely. Forget? Never.

Pete's right on about this. First, he calls it for what it is; a lame attempt to market to baby boomers. The reason why it won't (and isn't working) is b/c it's too obvious. (BBs don't associate negatively w/ Germans but they do with Jeeps). Can't you just picture the marketing group sitting around the table thinking of this great idea? Dr. Z, time to come up with a real marketing plan to halt what will be a major shift away from your brands :)

"There's no dispute here that competition benefits quality, nor that foreign ownership is necessarily bad. At issue is symbolism. Flaunting German ownership of Jeep, in my mind, is just revisionist history."

Revisionist history? I think you have way too much time on your hands. I suppose Taco Bell is symbolic of promoting illegal immigration with their "run for the border" campaign.

The only thing being pushed in those commercials is the strongly held belief that Germans are better engineers and their better engineering will result in improvements to the Jeep line, which has had a mediocre track record since forever. Let's hope the commercial isn't lying. Just cause someone rolled into battle in a jeep over 60 years ago doesn't mean we're obligated to buy their crappy cars in the here and now.

Hi! nice site

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