[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNzVhX8O-HU[/youtube]
Here’s a great way to start your morning… watch a British Touring Car driver get a chance behind the wheel in a 1965 Ford GT40. It’s odd, as a MURICAN to hear him keep referring to the car as an iconic British sports car but that’s exactly where that car was built. The first three generations of the Ford GT40 were products of Slough in the United Kingdom.
Of course, these cars came packing massive bits of American motoring muscle under the skin, but it was the combined efforts of both British and American teams that saw the GT program do what it did.
Suck it, Enzo…
Watch a 1965 Ford GT40 Get a Workout
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Hmmm, that’s an interesting debate. What defines where a car comes from?
1. Where it was built?
2. Where it was designed?
3. Where it’s chassis and/or engine was designed or built?
4. Where it’s marque comes from?
5. Where it’s marque’s headquarters was when it was built/designed?-
I think this debate has merit in the truck buying habits of today… So many people here in the States proclaim their love of American built products, then drive off in there Mexican or Canadian built vehicles.
Now I have no issue with where the vehicle is built, but I find it funny those same truck owners might deride someone for buying a Nissan Titan XD… when that truck was built right in TN.
Interesting topic of discussion for sure.-
My grandfather gave me some grief over buying a Japanese truck (a Nissan Frontier), but in my mind, since it was built in Tennessee predominantly by U.S. citizens, and about 50% of the parts were manufactured in North America, it’s pretty ‘Murican, not that it would really bother me if it wasn’t though.
That was a cool video, by the way. I love the roundel on the steering wheel.-
And my San Antonio-built Toyota Tacoma.
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Like the Chrysler commercial with George Washington and the Canadian-built Chargers and Challengers.
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There are more than a few Harley owners who refuse to acknowledge the various overseas components that ALL contemporary H-Ds use, while proudly waving their various made-in-China flags & non-DOT-compliant half-helmets.
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I think it depends on what the purpose is in defining where the car comes from. I think if the point to be made is about how awesome the car’s performance is, or how innovative it is, or how it represents a certain area’s heritage, then it’s only fair to consider where the actual design and engineering happened (engineer here, so, might be biased). The background of the originator of the concept and/or the driver of the project also plays in. In the case of the GT40, with the original concept coming from Ford, the chassis and suspension engineering being done in Britain, and the power being provided by a good old ‘murican V-8, in my mind it ought to be considered a joint American-British car.
Coming back to my original statement, if the point is to take pride in the finished quality or the effect on an area’s economy, then one must consider both where the company in question is headquartered/where sales money is going, and where the cars are built, i.e. where the manufacturing jobs and economy are. If a car (or more likely, truck) is conceived and designed in Japan, but built in the USA, then I think it’s fair play to say that you’re supporting American workers by buying one, with the caveat that we’re talking about production workers, not auto company execs, designers and engineers (not saying there’s anything bad about that, just that I wouldn’t say it counts as “buying American”, full-stop — in fact, with the flip side of the coin being that much of the manufacturing of domestic car companies happens outside the country, I’d guess that “buying American”, full-stop, is a bit of a rarity), and taking pride in its fit and finish reflects well on both the company culture and the production workers.
…well that turned into a long answer. -
I generally just take their word for it.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1715/24819593354_97c4b84541_z.jpg
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Henry Ford II (“Hank the Deuce”) was definitely American, and the GT40 was his idea, to beat Il Commendatore and the Italians at Le Mans.
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I think it’s right, just and proper to conclude that the GT40 was a product of Allied Forces.
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The P-51 Mustang really came alive after the Brits stuffed a Merlin in it. Like Shelby later did with the Ace. My kind of hybrids.
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Surely those engines were Packard V-1650s, weren’t they? 😉
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I think the original testing was done in Britain with the Allison then RR added the Merlin for high altitude work. Later model B’s had Packard built(under licence from RR) Merlins. I had the fortunate opportunity to fly.in a P-51D model ( Mary Mine)and it had parts stamped “Maytag” ! Everyone was making parts.
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Thanks for the info, but I know the history. I was just tweaking the Anglophiles. The Merlin was just as responsible for the P-51’s success as the airframe was. It was reportedly nothing very special with the Allison, and the Merlin allowed it to realize its potential. Flying in one would be a peak experience! Congrats.
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This Ford GT “heritage” question is similar to the current argument about whether of not the new HaasF1 team is “American” or not. Regarding both question, all of the people who engineered and built the constituent components or even the car itself deserve every bit credit for their contribution (and they do get full recognition), but the impetus behind both projects, the inspiration for both undertakings, and the huge financial commitment are all American. Reducing this to saying all the Americans did was write a check does a real disservice to these people. Surely, we Yanks deserve to enjoy being proud of these American projects. PS: There are still people who won’t let us claim Mario Andretti as an American. Give us a break.
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