Why do so many people knock British-made cars? Why do so few people buy them?

Question

The Rover 75 was voted European Car of the Year when it was first launched. Jaguars compete very favourably with other cars (BMW/Audi etc.) in their class. The Mini is hugely successful and retains its value better than most other cars. Add to that the quality cars such as Rolls Royce, fun cars like Morgan and TVR, and all of the Japanese, French and German cars that are actually made in this country. Yet so many people seem to be willing to let their hard-earned money go into the pockets of our European competitors, and thus into their health, education and defence budgets. Am I missing something, or do people feel happier supporting the French and Germans to supporting Britain?

It is very worrying that so many who have TRIED to answer the question have TOTALLY missed the point. The word in the question "MADE" is the key. I am not concerned about where the company originated. Most motor manufacturers are multi-national. And although some of the profit undoubtedly goes abroad, the income tax and National Insurance paid by those who are employed IN BRITAIN in the motor industry goes into the British economy. The negative comments about workmanship are certainly not shared by many "foreign" companies who have invested heavily in Britain - see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4923610.stm and get some information rather than talking nonsense. In most countries in the world where they have a motor industry, the people in that country buy "their" cars. We don't, yet we moan constantly about the state of the roads, hospitals, education, etc. If you send the money from the second-biggest purchase you will ever make out of the country, it is YOUR fault.

Answer 1

the majority of british cars have major problems arise after a few years. back when they first started making cars they were horrible. and besides i have absolutley no respect for the british engineering. the only thing good to come out of there is some of the hottest women on the planet

Answer 2

There are some very BRITISH cars around that people would buy if they could get one .. TVR, Morgan, Chaterham and of course Ascari. British can mean 'made in Britain' in which case Ford has plenty as do Vauxhall, not forgetting Bentley, Rolls Royce, Aston Martin. Toyota and Nissan both export from Britain probably more than they sell in the UK. Take a look at the race tracks most (not all) F1 cars are British designed and made and many Rally teams are British even if the car badge is Japanese. Toyota, Mazda, BMW, Volvo and many others have design roots in Britain. People buy badges not cars ... real car enthusiasts buy cars not badges but then the UK culture is now a 'must have better than I can afford to beat the neighbours' ... silly but oh so very true .. Go look at the motor show and go to some weekend car meets and see some real cars ... Jowett Javelins which where so reliable the company went bust ...Jensen the British car with a Chrysler heart (the CV8) ... dont knock the Britsh car, knock the British for not buying them.

Answer 3

There was a time in the not so distant past when British cars were the absolute pits quality wise. MG was known for it's electrical problems. Triumph's TR7 practically fell apart. DeLorian....well, that's a story in and of itself! Getting parts for a British car, at least in the USA was difficult at best. The good ones, Rolls and Bentley, were waaaaaaaaay out of the price range for the average American consumer. During this period of time, Mercedes, BMW, Toyota, Nissan and others were selling and marketing some of the very best automobiles, to the detriment of the British, American , French and Italian automobile industries.

Fast forward to today, and despite the fact that people have a splendid choice of many different high quality automobiles from a variety of locations, they have long memories, and tend to stick with that which is familiar and successful. Brand loyalty is hard nut to crack.

And for what it's worth, very few Americans buy French cars, and the Mini is really catching on over here. I saw my first new Morgan just the other day...it's a good looking vehicle!! Jaguar is considered a bit ostentatious in some circles, and the Land Rover is in direct competition with the Hummer, and the image contrast alone is enough to keep Rover down.

Answer 4

Well, yes, you;re missing the entire point, frankly - Rover is now defunct totally, mainly because their cars were rubbish so you can't now buy a Rover even if you wanted to. Jaguar is owned by Ford (American). Vauxhall is owned by GM (American), Mini is owned by BMW, as is Rolls Royce. Last I looked, TVR was owned by a Russian and Lotus by Proton of Malaysia. And as you rightly say, most cars built in the UK are Peugeots, Nissans etc. So where, exactly, do you think all the profits from the sale of these cars goes? Yes!!! To the owning company who then shell out corporate taxes into their home country's governmental budgets. So even British made cars (with, I think the exception probably of Morgan, and frankly a Morgan's hardly practical and affordable is it?) support foreign economies.

Answer 5

I didn't know people bought French cars here in the U.S. either. I've never ever seen a Renault on the road here. I do however see tons of Audis, BMWs and Mini-Coopers rolling around. However, because of the huge aftermarket for Japanese compact and sub-compact cars (ricers/street racers) they are very popular. I'd say the real reason we don't buy as many Brit cars as maybe we should is price. Japanese cars are cheaper, even low end VWs are cheapish. A Mercedes is what it is and is incredibly beautiful. The same with Porsche.

As the situation stands financially in most households in the United States, the income is currently not meeting the bills. In other words, people are already spending more than they are earning on a montly basis. They are doing this with loans and credit cards and its a downward spiral which will eventually come crashing down.

Answer 6

Way back in the dim dark ages (OK - mid 20th Century) British cars were plagued with problems like oil leaks (probably made most famous by Rolls Royce who claimed that the continual replacement of lubricating oil ensured that no contaminants remained between moving parts), and the fact that you needed three different spanners to perform the most simple tasks. Obviously you have never tried to do a tune-up or replace the cone suspension on an original Mini ;)

Compare this to a Japanese car or a German car where there is probably only three or four sizes of spanner required to remove the whole engine.

Answer 7

Which British car were you thinking of? Jaguar belongs to Ford (USA), while Mini and Rolls Royce are both built by German companies now... (BMW and VW)

It's just like it is in the USA... It's a world market out there, and even the most traditional American (or British) brand of automobile can be mostly made of imported parts, or by foreign owned companies.

Answer 8

Britain is best at niche, low-volume manufacturing of motor vehicles, so we don't sell too many around the world. Our record of industrial strife, and subsequent atrocious build quality, during the 1970s certainly didn't help.

However, when it comes to F1 cars, we're top of the tree. Most of the F1 teams, even ones that sound wholly foreign such as Renault, are based in the UK.

Answer 9

but rover was owned by bmw at the time, Jaguars are fords, Mini is now german, as is rolls royce, tvr is now owned by a russian- and what a balls he's made of it, and morgans are hardly your everyday kinda wheels.

it is a crying shame that the only mass produced cars we build are for foreign companies with the exception of Vauxhall, but even thats owned by the americans and germans and soon to be joined by the french and japanese!!

Answer 10

British Cars do have historic value, we can say it as a heritage value, but the modern car market has been going with the updated technology, where as in British cars, technological updation is slow because UK people are enlighted conservatists, which has great value in it and working based on that. For long term objectives money is immaterial the value is the actual. If take in to account of the history of UK, German and France, the relationship is diplomatic.

Answer 11

I'd love to buy a Noble if I had the money.

I think generally people go for the most reliable or the best looking.

You didnt make any mention of Ford, the Focus is an excellent car and what I will be getting next.

I would NEVER have another Vauxhall if somebody paid me, I had a Vectra and had nothing but trouble with it, complete shyte!