I drive a Citroën C4 Picasso. To me, it is an immensely comfortable and practical vehicle which, finally, attempts to embody the style, quirkiness and the
je ne sais quoi that Citroën have never really had since the heady days of the phenomenal DS19. The car was built in Spain, but it is undeniably a ‘French’ car, not ‘Spanish’. Some years ago whilst looking at BMWs, the dealer himself told me that the lower models were nowhere near as good as they used to be since they moved production to South Africa, but BMWs no matter where they are built are still ‘German’ cars. Likewise Toyotas built in USA are still Japanese. The ubiquitous Morris Mini-Minor (I learnt how to drive in one), once a British icon, is now owned and designed by BMW. MGs are now made in China, I believe.
From that perspective, the romance has died. Things ain’t what they used to be.
None of these points are criticisms as such but point to the inevitable conclusion that globalisation has blurred nationalistic barriers to such an extent that the phrase “Made in Wherever” now in many cases has little or no meaning. I’ve seen some very interesting discussions concerning, for example, the veracity of labeling a Bechstein piano as “Made in Germany” when in fact German law allows that statement when a product receiving only "40%-50% added manufactured value" within Germany itself – qualifies for that status. So is a Bechstein really a German piano? More importantly, is it really a Bechstein? I'm not so sure...
Consider this.
The Bechstein piano, as with every long lived product brand name, has a problem with their history catching up with them. In all reality, Bechstein is another brand name which has outlived its founders, i.e. the brand name ain’t what it used to be. The same can be said for Steinway, Bosendorfer etc. It is an important difference that Stuart & Sons still has its founder and the product is still evolving under the guidance of the ‘original thinker’. I'm sure many who buy Stuart & Sons pianos are about supporting human endeavour just as much as buying product. Rowan Atkinson purchased his Stuart & Sons piano precisely for that reason, and it was an important factor in my own purchase of one as well. After all, it is perfectly possible to buy a very good piano for a fraction of the price from anyone else.
Some specialised parts (strings, actions) for Stuart pianos come from overseas because they are the best quality parts they can get for the purpose and there are no equivalent Australian manufacturers. But, the piano case and iron frames are made in Australia, and the piano is 100% designed, assembled, finished, tuned and optimised for performance at the factory. So without needing to calculate "added manufactured value" it is, I would submit, correct to say the piano is undeniably Australian, whichever way you look at it. I know for a fact that Wayne fully intends to keep it that way. And I fully support that.