Was just looking at the thread on British Cars. Austin made cars for an American company, 60 odd years ago, probably because it was cheaper to have them made here and Britain had a name for quality products. A guy who had worked in USA said they were no good at making small things everything had to be big.
I was talking to a machine tool fitter working on a power press I asked him about the company he worked for, and how the demise of industry had affected it, I had seen their vehicles about for years. He said it had been going for 150 years, he had bought the company but did not like sitting in an office, he liked to get his hands dirty. He said a lot of work had gone abroad, and in spite of being Indian he said **** India we want the work here. He said it will all come back anyway, the cost of transport will become prohibitive and people want quality. Another guy I was in hospital with was a toolroom kid when I knew him, he had opened a factory in India but spent 9 months a year there making sure they kept to the standards he required.
Much to my surprise a lot of these companies given to foreign ownership, such as Jaguar Landrover, still prefer to produce here I thought they would ship the lot abroad.