Pretty simple. First, about the cars. American cars had mostly become
pretty mediocre by the end of the 50s -- they looked fancy, but didn't
hold up very well. During the '60s, the Japanese companies came in with
far better quality, and the smarter American buyers figured that out.
Over several decades, the US mfrs figured that out and have been getting
better. But in the meantime, EU, JA, and HL companies have made big
dents in the market, and US mfrs are still playing catchup. The last
US-made cars I owned were Dodge Darts and a '78 Chevy wagon. Since then,
my wife and I have owned (and liked) Honda, Saab, Volvo, and Toyota.
As to ham gear -- some Americans claim to be patriotic, but cheaper
nearly always overrides better, and if rigs built in BA or JA are
cheaper, American hams will buy them. Fast forward to 2014 -- I see a
lot of "shack on the belt" hams walking around with Chinese VHF FM gear
that they bought for < $100. Some Americans TALK patriotism, but damn
few of us put our money where our mouths are.
Some of us are open minded, and try to get both quality and the best
bang for my buck. I bought a Ten Tec Omni A around 1980, when it was
both quality and moderate in cost. I'm still using Ten Tec Titan 425s. I
couldn't afford them when they were new, but I've bought three used for
less than the cost of an Alpha. Since getting back on the air in 2003,
I've owned and used Ten Tec (an Omni V+), Kenwood, Yaesu, ICOM, and
Elecraft HF transceivers. The Elecraft K3 is so good they've replaced
all the others. I'm still using Kenwood VHF/UHF FM rigs in shack,
mobile, and talkie.
73, Jim K9YC
On Tue,4/26/2016 5:24 PM, Richard Tschur wrote:
And one other small thing, without being racist or stepping on
people's toes, but knowing American's are all so patriotic, how is it,
that soo many people over there use Japanese radio's and drive
Japanese cars??? Never really understood that.
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