[Paul Franssen]

Would you really expect Dr. Stutt Gart to have ye olde precision shoppe in the back hand-making ze Porsche peripheral equipment to serve any illusory nationalist desires? These days are over (and it ain't none of my choice, either!).

Computer peripherals made in Thailand, Malaysia... Jogging shoes in China or Indonesia. My son's new Yamaha bass in Indonesia. You name it. Cheapest labor cost (whether that be take home pay, or sick/pension/other "social costs") will suck employment into their region. Ocean, even air-transport costs are minimal (ask me how I know), GATT agreements keep the customs barriers wide open for "free trade" (the USA is the strongest proponent of that). Without prejudice to the rights and obligations of producing nations (barring child, prisoner and/or slave labor, of course!), that general principle is firmly established into the domain of world trade. Like it or not... Everything we buy (US and Europe are not in the slightest different in that respect) is made "in Asia" (or, sometimes, Morocco, Brazil, in your parts it might be ...Mexico). I've come to the -painful- acknowledgement that, it would seem, the only thing we (in Europe) still produce is agricultural products (protect them!), some luxury goods (export them!), arts and literature, and -still to a large degree- cars. Expensive cars, like BMW, VW, Porsche. How long yet? What's to keep Porsche from having a tasteful design studio in Zuffenhausen and to have their factories in the vicinity of Shanghai. A couple of Herrn supervisors should ensure quality control. It is ...scary... but that's been the one-way movement since WWII. So, if you like to employ the services of Wayne for your spare parts, don't impose "Made in Deutschland" onto him: "there ain't nothing he can do about it" (sung to the tune of "(You keep me) Hangin' on" an old Vanilla Fudge song.