Will we still see all this France-bashing after

[lectrobyte]

Renault bails out GM?

[BillZBubb]

1. Yes.

The French are red meat to the rightards. There is no logic to it, but then there is no logic to anything they believe.

[cantstandbush]

2. Probably. The "ditto heads" are incapable of critical thinking. nt

[acmejack]

3. or after wimbleton men's, ladie's & World Cup are played?

They have won ladies, the others are still to be played.

edit, not as important, but still, worthy of some note.

[nealmhughes]

4. Je ne comprendre pas les motivations des antifrancais en les EUA.

La France est notre soeur en la histoire des droits humaines et la republicainisme, n'est-ce pas?
And they make great cheese and wine...let their dogs dine at restaurants and their actors are fantastic...on the downside, they get a month of vacation every year and have free higher ed and health care. Ummm, jealousy, perhaps?
The anti-English coalition of the colonies and France using American tobacco to finance French guns and ships won us our freedom and our republic. France and Scotland produced the basic outlines of Enlightenment thought that Americans bought into whole heartedly. France then decided "good idea, this republic" and voila...
France has given political refuge to many who had no other place to go, along with the US and the UK and Mexico. All four countries are twinned in a sense in our mutual cultural heritage, and France is no more leader of the West than is the UK or Germany or the USA. We have a symbionic relationship. We learn from one another. We want the same things in life. We watch the same shows and wear the same clothes from Vladivostok going west back to Vladivostok. But if one wants to be "big" let's face it: London, NYC or Paris is mandatory...at least for a sojourn.
My French is poor, but I can read it. I can order a meal in Montreal or New Orleans or Toulouse and noone not understand what I want to eat.
Perhaps French bashers are secretly envious of France and know the cultural debt we need to pay to the republic yet are not ready to acknowledge this...

[catnhatnh]

5. Let me tell you about french engineering....

it used to suck end probably still does....renault produced a fairly popular car in the 70's=the alliance which for whatever reason used 2 totally different ignition systems morrelli and ducielier if i remember correctly....anyhow as a result you could buy two sets of parts or one set and see if you were right-had nothing to do with serial #s or anything else....in short they were a joke as was "Le Car" another renault loser....if there is any corporation worse then GM it is GM/renault.....

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

6. Renault has made good cars and bad cars

I had an R5 (LeCar) and took it apart. It had a lot of smog equipment that was improvised when the car was imported into the US that it was never intended to have in France or in other countries where Renaults were sold. The imported R5s tended to overheat and blow head gaskets. But Renaults have often performed very, very well in Europe and throughout the world. The Renault Dauphine from the 1960s was not a good design and tended to roll in sharp turns and the Floride/Caravelle was underpowered for a sporty type of car. The world's first hatchback, the R16 was a rugged performer but not very exciting. The Renault R4L was a great little car, very rugged, that was sold throughout the world and especially in Latin America. The more recent Renault Twingo was a great little car. The Renault Alpine A110 in the 1960's was perhaps the greatest sports car of its generation. But you are right about the LeCar and the Alliance. They were not among Renault's best designs. But several Volvos used Renault 1.4 liter and 1.7 engines. The Lotus Europa also used a Renault engine (more reliable than the alternate Cosworth).

As far as French automotive engineering in general, I consider the Citroen DS21 to be one of the greatest engineering masterpieces of all time in any street production car. I own one from 1969 and it's still on the road, running like a clock. As you can probably tell, I'm an old car fan, but I'd like to have a new Citroen C4, however. It's the only new car I'd care to own:

[SensibleAmerican]

7. We've seen French bashing for the past 60 years

It's not going to stop now.