.... I can’t understand how whilst we have seen our manufacturing industries disappear other countries still continue to have them. France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Czech Republic still have their own car companies, so why haven’t we?
I don't accept that any of those European countries have not seen their manufacturing industries disappearing, especially their car companies.
Starting with Germany .... Mercedes and their very successful flagship Formula 1 race car .... built and developed by a small company called McLaren in Woking, Berkshire, with the engines designed and built by an Italian engineer in Ilford, Essex (Ilmor Engineering) .... financed at least by Mercedes, whose main contribution is the addition of their name and three-pointed star on the engine rocker covers (which only adds weight and hence slows the car down).
Or Volkswagen, who share platforms with Ford, Lancia and Citroen, and build their cars in Spain and Belgium .... and in the Czech Republic, whose largest car manufacturer (Skoda) was taken over and now make rebadged VWs.
Or Opel, owned since 1929 by General Motors and now on the brink of extinction.
Or Porsche, who are continually struggling to avoid bankruptcy.
Or BMW, who although very successful, build their Z1, Z3 and Z4 models in the USA.
Apart from losing Skoda to VW, the Czech Republic has also lost Tatra, and the virtually identical Toyota Aygo / Peugeot 107 / Citroen C1 cars are built there now, as are Hyundai (Korean).
Or the Swedish fighter aircraft and car manufacturer Saab, owned until recently by General Motors and now effectively dead. Or Volvo, owned by Ford, and about to be sold to Geely (in China).
And in France, Renault have slept with Volvo (440 used Renault engines), Peugeot / Citroen (V6 engine, also used by Volvo, was a joint collaboration) plus Nissan and Jeep. The Renault / Peugeot / Citroen group would have closed ages ago but for being state-owned and supported.
Citroen built their SM with a Maserati engine.
Bugatti was bought up by Volkswagen in 1998.
Darracq, Delage, Delahaye, Facel Vega, Matra, Panhard, Rosengart, Simca and Talbot - all long since extinct.
And as for the Italians - the Lancia / Alfa Romeo / Maserati / Abarth / Fiat / Ferrari group would have closed down years ago if they weren't state-owned and supported. Lamborghini is owned by VW / Audi / Seat. They have lost supercar manufacturers such as Bizzarrini, De Tomaso, Innocenti, Iso, Nardi and Osca.
Even the Austrians are not immune - they lost Steyr-Daimler-Puch, although Chrysler build their Voyager there.
Jaguar (previously owned by Ford, now owned by Tata in India), buys their diesel engines in from Peugeot.
It is no fault of Britain, nor is Britain alone here - the entire world economy is shifting and in turmoil, requiring all sorts of companies to get into bed with strangers just to try to keep their heads above water.
My great uncle and aunt lived in Marston Green, I used to love visiting them as a kid and have fond memories of driving past Cadburys, so I too mourn the takover by US giant Kraft .... but if that means that the Cadburys can continue to exist rather than close down and become extinct, Kraft is definitely the lesser of two evils.
And having visited Hershey and tasted their chocolate at its source, I can fully appreciate why the Americans want to buy Cadburys !!
