Exactly. During WWI, Americans could have watched the Germans kick the faggots&peas out of the English and it would have made no difference to the USA.

In the long run, it would have probably been better for the world, since things would have been properly settled — there would have been no excuse for a Hitler.

We had an appointment to keep?

Modern American food DOES suck: What it has in size, it ALSO lacks in refinement and taste.

This stated, classic British cars went bankrupt and Classic British food DOES suck.

Move to Italy, Germany or Japan for excellent food and cars.

Move to Latin America for good food, forget about cars.

Move to Asia Pacific for cheap food and cheap cars.

Move to Africa for no food and no cars.

Perhaps as they were cousins he wouldn’t have minded. However turning up late for one war being perhaps a mistake, but for two is downright shoddy.

We laugh at ourselves the best – see here.

I could tolerate such criticism from Germans, Japanese, Italians or even the French, but from a country that produces nothing?

I could tolerate criticism about American food from just about anyone, but from a resident of a country that considers “faggots and peas” to be high cuisine? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faggot_%28food%29

Let’s not even mention Herr Hitler, because if it weren’t for the USofA, King George would have been walking around with Kaiser Willy’s hobnailed jackboot stuffed squarely up his ass.

I think Mr Alrbight’s comment was somewhat blunted by the fact he indulged in the arrogance he suggested we Brits would bring up.

And which you did, in fact, bring up. Which was sort of my point….

I would suggest the “can’t take it” point is actually the other way round – go back and read the original TTAC response editorial and tell me who is being precious.

I’m still kind of wondering how suggesting a Dodge Caravan is not a very good car is “impure, adulterated bile”.

I think Katie P pointed this out on page 1 of this death march of comments.

Simply put, it seems that you can dish it out, but you can’t take it. You’d like to be able to slag the Yanks until the cows come home, but when it comes flying back in your direction, you don’t like it very much.

What’s fair is fair. Above, I presumed that May’s bit is humor, a matter of just taking the piss. But the more somber reactions here from the Old Worlders to the bad teeth/ bad food cheap shots implies that the Briticisms may actually be serious and are no joke at all. Bloody hell, if you can’t handle the blowback, why hurl the snarkiness our way in the first place?

We get back to how its been mentioned lots that the UK has an island like snobbish mentality to the world, well guess what america, take a look in the mirror, you have the same mentality. You say you have the worlds biggest economy, ok, but you have the worlds biggest debt, an economy seemingly based on credit thats catching up with you mightily fast, that looks like its just been saved, by making that credit easier to get to again. Viscious circles. A currency that is being replaced by other safer currencies as the dollar is still at risk of crashing for investors, doesnt look that rosy to many.

As for a journo going to the UK to write about our diverse weather and food go ahead, even write about our economical cars (which is starting to happen here by the way, look to your coasts where trends initiate, watch your gas prices rise then watch how buying trends change further from your gas guzzlers.)that you dont need to tow a petrol tanker behind to keep them running, then fine, we’d slap him on the back and take him down the pub and buy him a beer. Because we know its true, we’re not that shallow! Only thing being its been pretty sunny lately he might want his suncream with him when he goes, and an umbrella cos like michigan the weather is its own boss.

Btw, that link Pch101 posted with Clarkson reviewing the Mustang GT is dead on… both about the car and analysis of the American car culture.

The first is something which may change.

I think, possibly not too long in the future, China may argue about the second.

erm

The fact is, when you’re on top, people will do anything they can to try and cut you down

er, nail, thumb, no ?

No.

The US is the world’s largest economy. The US is the world’s sole remaining “superpower.” Those are not opinions, they are facts.

erm

The fact is, when you’re on top, people will do anything they can to try and cut you down

er, nail, thumb, no ?

It is endlessly amusing to watch Americans laugh as the Brits savage each other, and then react like whipped puppies when they are the target.

I don’t like this editorial of James May.
I think it’s an easy shot and it’s flirting with the Anti-American crowd.
Jokes about American and English food are so old I think my grand dad wouldn’t laugh.
All Americans are fat so their cars are fat is equally old.

You have to see it as a “Saturday night live” sketch or “daily show” or something.
And I know it’s a really bad one!

So I didn’t say what he wrote was ok because he said it to a British audience.
I said it was ok because he said it to a British audience who knew he was joking.
“Joking” in this context has to do with British humour.

Now I have to explain British humour which would be difficult and lengthy. (And I’m not really an expert to say the least.) Try: Google, Wikipedia

Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_humour

Now the reactions in the article and in the comments aren’t any better!

This is a prime example of a cultural misunderstanding.
As I see it:
“May once again reveals that the U.S. and the UK are two nations separated by the British humour.”

Even Jeremy Clarkson passed a grudging nod in its direction, even though he wasn’t thrilled with the driving dynamics: http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/driving/jeremy_clarkson/article569952.ece

Jonny Lieberman did the TTAC review, and essentially agreed with Clarkson — not a great car, but somehow pretty cool. I guess we’re not always separated by a common language, after all.

Not everybody digs muscle cars. Anyone can drop a big engine into a lackluster chassis.

That being said, any objective American knows we make worse cars on a whole than the Europeans and the Japanese. But we’ve still got some damn good muscle cars.

May certainly seems to have picked the lowest of the low hanging fruit, though. Fast food is bad for you? Wow. I had no idea. Pickup trucks have harsh rides? Amazing, I would never have guessed that a vehicle that is designed to still be safe while carrying 2,000lb of rocks might have a rough ride when it’s unladen.

Do you have to go to J School to figure this stuff out?

I do have to ask a question of May’s British defenders, though: If an American auto journalist went to the UK and wrote an article denouncing the dreary weather; tiny little clown cars; warm beer; and horrible dental work, would the British faithful just shrug their shoulders and say “hey it’s just an American writing for an American audience?” Would they admiringly say “Oh yeah, he’s got our number!” Or would they denounce it as further proof that American simplicity, American arrogance, and that Americans are contemptuous of anything from outside their borders?

I think we all know the answer to that one…

Unfortunate about that world wide web thing, eh?

The irony of this comment is killing me.

James May drove the Mustang convertible and didn’t like it. It was one of the cars that he criticized in his article, so I don’t see how anyone would then suggest he drive a Mustang because it is a better example of America’s car making abilities.

tankd0g: Most Americans don’t buy said behemoths to haul plywood, either. So that’s not much of an argument.

Originally you said that American vehicles lack “substance” and I responded that domestic pickup trucks are quite tough, and can haul heavy loads, and they should be judged by that criteria, not on how well they can go around the skidpad.

Whether Americans are using them to haul plywood or anything else is irrelevant – the point is, the vehicles have substance, and are tough enough to take what owners throw at them.

Statistics may show that they people don’t haul loads or tow trailers THE MAJORITY of the time that they drive said vehicles, but that does not mean that they aren’t using the vehicle’s capabilities on a regular basis. It also shows that the trucks are versatile vehicles – they can perform both light (driving to work) and heavy (hauling and towing) duties.

Quite frankly, I have the strong feeling that your statistics are either biased or meaningless, designed more to “prove” the researcher’s beliefs than to find the truth.

tankd0g: Many, MANY people in North America will put up with a poor, even dangerous handling truck that costs a fortune in upkeep as their daily driver just to be seen as being able to do so, even if they are $40,000 in CC debt. and work at Walmart.

Anyone who works at Walmart, unless he or she is a manager or has a well-paid spouse, is not driving a brand-new, $40,000 truck. They could be driving a used pickup, which does not cost $40,000.

And the handling of trucks is not “dangerous” by any stretch of imagination, unless you are going to take one around the skidpad or down a country road at triple-digit speeds.

People understand a truck’s limitations, and drive them accordingly. If they don’t, that is not the truck’s fault, and it does not make the vehicle dangerous.

tankd0g: This perpetuates the stereotype that Americans are wasteful and gobbling up the worlds resources as a disproportionate rate. And unfortunately, the statistics show that to be true. You have the freedom to do what you want, but if you can’t take the critism that’s your problem, not every one else’s.

We use more energy because we have more need for air conditioning and heating than most European countries. No European country (except for the European part of the Soviet Union) has our extremes of weather within its borders. When I was in Dallas, Texas, in August, two British tourists in a Starbucks remarked, “No wonder everything is air conditioned; the heat is unbearable!” (It was 100 degrees F.)

Most Europeans have a poor idea of what our weather is really like, especially the hot parts in the southern U.S.

By contrast, when I was in London in August 2005, the local populace was wailing about the heat, which was…about 75 degrees F. Which is considered quite pleasant over here! And very few buildings were air conditioned, even though they were still hot and uncomfortably stuffy.

We also have longer distances to drive. As someone once said, “In England, 100 miles is a long trip; in America, 100 years is a long time.”

Sure. I’ll make the same point to you that I make to the domestic cheerleaders — I don’t see how that matters.

Just as long as good companies make products that we want, there is no issue. The fact that they build them locally using domestic parts and labor is an added benefit.

These companies are all multinationals at this point. All of them have business interests globally, even GM and Ford. There’s no need for flagwaving of any sort when it comes to the already-globalized auto industry.