And I've already copied your quote from Ruskin to my "file of cool quotes". As a side note though, Britain's car manufacturing is a bit misunderstood. As you know every kid and his dad has had a backyard car they have designed and generally failed to bring to mainstream markets. There have been tens of thousands of car companies started in UK garages, while they still exist, the hope just isn't there for them anymore.

On the other hand, when you look at major manufacturer's, Ford UK has engineered some of the best vehicles on the market for decades. They've been engineering and building in the UK for over 100 years now, VERY successfully too. I know there were closures and layoffs, but that was across the board for all major companies. When a small firm lays off 5 people because they have hit hard times, it's not news. When Ford lays off 1000 people for the same reason, the market has collapsed and is news worthy. However I think it comes down to size and scale, the two companies are still reacting the same way.

The UK car industry is actually very strong again, Ford has FINALLY started bring UK engineering and build quality into North American cars, though at premium prices, but then again you get what you pay for and now we have well made European engineered vehicles in Canada again.