linder:
Russ:
linder:
After all is a BMW assembled in Alabama not a German car?
Actually Linder, a BMW assembled in Alabama is a Mercedes-Benz. BMW's US plant is in South Carolina. 
oops! You're right. I did get those mixed up. Now it is even better point to make!
Quite alright Linder...it does indeed help to move the discussion along.
I find this thread amusing, and as mentioned earlier, rather self-defeating. At the same time it is ironic, what with the 'how to save B&O thread' running along elsewhere on this site as well.
It seems to me that high-end, boutique manufacturers trade on their established reputation, no matter how or why it was established. When one makes a purchase from one of these manufacturers, most...I stress 'most'...customers trust the reputation and willingly take the Wizard of Oz's advice and ignore 'the man behind the curtain.' If I am looking for a Burberry Trench-coat (someone else brought them up earlier) I expect the Burberry shop in the Galleria to confidently tell me that this coat traces it's heritage back to WW-II when the British Army commissioned "us" to create a new, blah, blah, blah...and this coat is made with the same quality and care, blah, blah, blah.... I accept that or I don't. I want the Burberry, not the cheap knock-off...because I WANT it. Perhaps it's because I can actually tell that the materials are superior, perhaps I just want the label, perhaps I am an Anglophile. The point is that I choose to trust that Burberry is still making coats as they always have. I don't need the garment bag, I'll just wear it on my way to the car, thanks! Burberry was founded in the 1850's, and was last a privately held company in the 1950's. What remains of its essential Burberry-ness, except it's reputation, integrity, and commitment?
No matter how hard you try, you can not purchase a used BMW Z-3 which was not built by a bunch of red-neck hicks in the Southern US. Sorry, there are no 'German' ones. A new X-3, or X-5? A roll of the dice, as they build a lot of those for international markets, right there in my home-town, Spartanburg, SC. Do BMW customers care? Aficionados? Snobs? Well, OK...maybe those last ones. BMW built the factory, trained the workers, certifies the quality, and offers the same warranty, regardless of country of origin. BMW confidently faces their customers, and states that every one of these is a 'real' BMW, because we say it is. Any of this sound familiar?
TWG, I think you are seeing the discussion backward...my contention is that if B&O had not begun 10 years ago to move some operations to CZ, those products made there would cost more than they do now...not as you seem to imply, that B&O has been cheating and holding prices (and those missing profits) artificially high. What might a BV-8 cost, if it were assembled as a 'finished product' in DK, and therefore almost certainly subject to a higher VAT? Higher costs (including taxes) can't save a company.
As an aside, my family really does live in the same county in South Carolina as BMW MFG/USA. BMW have been there for 15 years or so, have created several thousand local jobs, and enthusiastically support the community. My brother refuses to consider purchasing a BMW because it isn't an 'American' car. He'd rather buy a Chrysler or General Motors product and give jobs to Canada, Mexico and Brazil, because the profits (at least until recently), came back to the US. Go figure.
What is a 'German' car anymore, or a 'Danish' stereo?
We kid because we love.
Bang & Olufsen Tysons Galleria
McLean, VA USA