Re: [DML] DMC nation of origin Was: DMC to be in a new PS2 game

[Jon Heese <dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

In answer to your question about Daimler-Chrysler, that's a great case 
where the lines are blurred due only to the fact that Chrysler was an 
American company for so long.  When it merged with Daimler, I remember a 
lot of people asking that same question.  I think it comes down to the 
reason for classifying the national heritage of a car.  In our case, 
it's a matter of grouping video game cars together by a common thread. 
I would wager a guess that the overwhelming majority of people who care 
would consider any Chrysler product an American car in this setting, 
just because it's much more comfortable to do so and there's no real 
harm in the misclassification by technicality.  Obviously, if we were 
asking for tax or legal purposes, it would have to be considered more 
seriously.

This next part is partially my opinion:

The only case where I would consider the source of funding a factor in 
this matter is if the government in question financed 100% of the 
venture, making the car manufacturer not only based in the country, but 
making the government itself the effective manufacturer of the car.  In 
the case of DMC, there were many private financiers too, and there is no 
clearly obvious way to determine the car's nation of origin based on 
that (a geographic average of each financier's headquarters?)  I just 
think it's a grey area in the convention, and as such, might just as 
well be discounted as needless complications.

If I understand the story correctly, the British government had no 
financial ownership of DMC at its inception.  By 1982, I think they 
controlled the company.  So, by your logic, does this mean that the 
early and late model DMC-12's have different nations of origins?  Again, 
we have to ask why we care, and what factors are important in the realm.

I do agree that it really isn't an open and shut case, and I'd be 
interested to hear everyone's opinion as well.

Regards,
Jon Heese

alex morgan wrote:
> 
> So if I understand what your saying, then we would now consider Dodge and 
> Chrysler to be European cars?  Because they are owned by Daimler Chrysler, 
> they would be manufactured by a British company and as such be considered 
> European cars?
> Weren't there DMC offices in Europe as well?  I am also curious why you 
> discount the funding source. I thought something like 3/4 of the money came 
> from the British governement.  And it wasn't the U.S. that shut down the 
> company, it was the brits.  Maybe I dont have my facts straight but I 
> thought for sure that the british goverment owned a clear majority of the 
> Delorean motor company.  I know that towards the end of 1982 JZD tried to 
> hand over all his remaining rights to the DMC and they (brit gov) wouldnt 
> take it.  If its an American company why would he hand over the remaing 
> stock to the british goverment?  I believe if DMC was based in the US but a 
> foreign entity owned the majority of the company it would not make it 
> american.  The question is WHO IS THE DELOREAN MOTOR COMPANY?
> 
> ""DeLorean Motor Company (or at least some reflexive affiliate)
> 
>>manufactured the car, and DMC was based in the US, so the car is an
>>American car, by all standards.""
> 
> 
> I would love to hear some more opinions about this.  I don't believe it to 
> be an open and shut case.





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