It is rather hard to separate politics and nationalism from cars, but in the
day and age of the global car we are coming close to having truly
international cars.
The car you drive not only makes a personal statement, but a national
statement. Cars are sold using sex, and people purchase them to send a
message about themselves.
For a person living in North America that drives a Citroen, Renault, or
Peugeot; you cannot say that your vehicle choice is derived from a rational
need for transportation. Anyone that owns and drives French or Italian car
in 2006 probably has a little bit more passion than the average Joe.
If you take this on a national level it becomes about strength,
intelligence, and might.
Look back at Germany's Silver Arrows in the 1930's campaigns at Le Mans.
The first battles of WWII were fought on the racetrack between Delahaye and
Auto Union. The French government offered big money to a French manufacture
that built a car that would beat the German Silver Arrows. Delahaye built
what was known as the "Bulldog", and Rene Dryfuss defeated the Silver Arrows
at Le Mans.
Given the symbolism that cars represent they are often items or pawns in the
various trade disputes/discussions/wars that exist between nations.
Fortunately the collective mind of the public is fickle and forgetful.
No matter how you slice it the countries of the world have had conflicts or
serious issues with one another throughout the course of history.
As far as I can tell the burning of the White House in 1814 by the British
has not had much impact on the sale of the new Mini Cooper.
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Received on Wed Jan 25 07:10:57 2006
