The Mini is cool.
I do want to comment on the Japanese designed vehicle/built in the USA having good design but poor manufactured quality.
I have a 2001 Toyota Tundra 4x4. The engine was built in Japan, but the rest was built in Indiana. I have almost 24,000 miles on it and have not had one single defect. The truck is just as solid and silent as when I drove it off the lot. Everything in it still works perfectly. American workers can build a vehicle just as well as anybody else. It seems that our engineers aren't getting the opportunity to, or cannot, design a reliable vehicle.
At the same time as I bought my Tundra, one of my boss' friends bought a 2001 Ford F150 4x4. At 6,000 miles the drive shaft fell off. Another guy I worked with then described his friend's experience with a 1998 Ford Explorer, bought new in 1998. His friend's Explorer had the tranny fall off at 4,000 miles. The only Ford I have owned was the single biggest piece of crap I have ever had the displeasure of being foisted on me. In terms of repairs it was by far the most expensive vehicle I have ever owned. I will never buy another Ford. For me to buy an American labeled vehicle there would have to be major, major improvements in their quality.
Right now I have no doubts that my next vehicle will be a Toyota.
Toyota rules.
