Happy Holidays From Your Friends At TTAC

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

The team at TTAC, wherever it may be, wishes you the best of all holidays.

As we are often accused of being pro-import, we honor an age-old European tradition: “The bridge.”

In Europe, this is when you take only a handful working days off to turn Christmas and New Year into a two-week vacation, which you spend in the Maldives, or in Phuket (because of the ancient temples…) At TTAC, we make it a mini-bridge, taking it easy until New Year. If and when there are major news, we will cover them. In the new year, we will be back in full force.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • PhotoJim PhotoJim on Dec 30, 2012

    Import-biased? Meh, to a Canadian like me they're all imports. (What's more Canadian, a Honda made in Ontario or a GM made in Ontario? Is my Honda made in Ohio more Canadian than a Mazda made in Japan? What does it matter?) By my reckoning, you call cars like they are and if the US car manufacturers made cars better than the non-US competitors, you'd be all over them. Seems to me, in fact, you've been all over some Ford products lately and your review of the Cadillac ATS was pretty favourable as well. Anyone who buys a car because it's American (or Japanese, or German, or Mexican) over all other considerations is doing himself or herself a disservice. Buy what's best. At worst, you end up with the best vehicle for yourself and a real financial motivation to the more local providers to up their game. (It's no coincidence that Ford's upped their game so much; they had to to succeed in Europe.)

  • Gentle Ted Gentle Ted on Dec 30, 2012

    Photo Jim has it right, the so called Big Three made crappy cars and Trucks over a thirty year period plus and dumped a lot of them here in Canada, no wonder the Import Makers found fertile ground to sell there products here in North America, even the US Consumer could only take some of there shoddy products and live with there many faults,one excuse was that it was made on a Friday!

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    • PhotoJim PhotoJim on Dec 31, 2012

      @mikey Saskatchewan, where I live, is in surplus but that's not really the point. The point is, you're advocating a protectionist mindset, and you have to think about this: if it makes sense for you to only buy Ontario-made cars because the Ontario economy is bad, it makes sense for Americans to avoid Ontario-made cars because their economy is at least as bad, and probably worse. Do you always make sure the flour in the food you consumed came from Saskatchewan wheat, or that the beef you consume came from Saskatchewan or Alberta cattle? I doubt it.

  • Pig_Iron Pig_Iron on Dec 30, 2012

    All the best to the masthead, crew, and B&B readership. Wishing everyone a great New Year. :-)

  • Buckshot Buckshot on Dec 30, 2012

    I have 2+ weeks vacation from dec 21 to jan 7, but it´s not all positive. It´s like; "Use it or loose your work" The economy is down, and you want to save some money just in case, but that´s not easy if you have a vacation :/

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