In Darjeeling, where I grew up, the summer capital of the then British Viceroy of Bengal, there were/are many Land Rovers and Bedfords imported during and soon after British rule and a few Ford, Plymouth, AMC's jeeps circa 1940s/50s. Imports were banned soon after independence and both assemblers GM and Ford were asked to leave if they did not adhere to new local content regulations. The Nepalese drivers and mechanics had figured out how to fix and maintain these vehicles with no prior training, no original spare parts, and kept these running for decades. Designed at most for six people they typically carried 12-16 people, some standing of course. The intuitive technical ability of people can be found everywhere, is also known as learning by doing. Similarly, India's Ambassador (a 1950s British Morris body but fully localized) created generations of mechanics in India whose skills are dying with the emergence of "new" Japanese-type vehicles.
anthony xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Anthony P. D'Costa, Professor Comparative International Development University of Washington 1900 Commerce Street Tacoma, WA 98402, USA Phone: (253) 692-4462 Fax : (253) 692-5718 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx On Thu, 18 May 2006, Michael Perelman wrote:
Some time ago, HBO broadcast a documentary on Cuban vintage cars. It gave a very different picture. These owners took great pride in keeping their cars in mint condition. It showed enormous ingenuity by various specialists in producing parts, like elaborate grills, that looked like the original materials. It also showed some workers destroying their health by producing asbestos brake linings for these cars. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
