Just watched Fred Dibnah explaining the engineering skills and achievments of our ancestors. It makes one proud of this small island nation which could lead the world in feats of engineering and skills. Should be mandatory to teach this in our schools instead of alien cultures.
And today we don't even produce in any quantity motor vehicles which in todays world are fairly low tech products. And the ones we do produce the companies are owned elsewhere. Whats to blame?, unions' low investment' poor government, perhaps even the british public in preferring to buy foreign cars unlike the French who predominantly buy their own which on the whole are no better than ours. any ideas....?
alvin
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Oi, there is too much Britain bashing on here, people are always saying how the grass is greener, I just don't think its true. Yes we had a great manufacturing industry (and I was taught about it in school - even in the 1990s!) but that has gone now and we lead the world in other areas. Just look at all the F1 technology that is developed here.
We are a very small country with high labour costs, and it just doesn't make sense for us to be a volume manufacturer anymore. I think there are still plenty of things to be proud of. Like Fred Dibnah's programme!
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Well said Phil, this country has much to be proud of including our research which led to the DNA discovery which is solving crimes that have remained unsolved for decades. In formula 1 engineering the British content in Ferrari's championship winning cars in design and engineering is exteremly high. Rolls Royce take on the world with their aero engines which are used in both commercial and military applications. Look around you the list of current acheivments goes on and on.
Eleanor
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wonderful presenter/comunicator is our Fred. I'm ex-Lancastrian, now 40 years in Surrey, and enjoying learning from him via that glorious Bolton burr and his down-to-earth enthusiasm for engineering. Steam roller road testing next?
Long Live Fred
Andrew
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I am a foreigner in British eyes as my Nigerian-Hungarian Jewish name shows. British goods are seen as high quality worldwide but the cost is perceived to be too high. Most foreign origin Britons, like me, are proud to be British and would like to literally fly the flag. But that is seen as being rascist and as supporters of a certain right wing political party. It seems OK to fly the Scottish or Welsh flags but not the British or English flags. By the same token, supporting British cars and manufacturers is seen by native British people to be anti-European. It seems to me that Britain would be even more succesful if the people looked after the country's interest first before worrying about sticking to European laws such as the rules on recycling. Our cars, fridges etc. will be the most expensive to buy and recycle because we are the only EU country bothering with applying the French/German designed rules.
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There's nothing low-tech about the modern motor car: the design and engineering work that goes into developing efficient, economical, safe, and enjoyable cars requires expert knowledge, high-tech testing, and motivated engineers.
On the style front, Britain is becomming the centre of attention. And on the engineering front, automotive and aeronautic skills are at their peak in the UK, as mentioned in the above posts.
What we don't do is bang our own drums. The subtlety of British style and engineering is carried over in our self-promotion.
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I agree, I think it is so very British that we don't make a big fuss about our achievements and I like it that way. It is somewhat sad about the flags carrying other meanings but then again the last thing I would want to see is US style flag waving uber-patriotism over here!
Back to cars, manufacturers have to compete in global marketplace, more so in the future, so they have to strive to make the best car in the marketplace. I for one wouldn't buy a British car because of its Britishness.
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But I would buy a British car because of its quality: the Rover 75 typified the BMW perception and branding of Rover; now the MG ZT represents the dynamic heritage of Britishness, and I'm sure future generations of MG-Rover products will be a triumph of style and substance. Sadly, the 25 and 45 are dated and in need of replacement.
Even if they are foreign marques, let's also remember the Nissan Primera, Almera, and Micra from Sunderland, the Peugeot 206 in Coventry, the Honda Civic, Toyota in Derby(?), and the component suppliers feeding not only these companies, but mainland Europe operations, too.
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