ARTICLE: "On the Road Again: A Chinese Company Intends to Build MG's in Oklahoma," by Nick Bunkley, New York Times, 12 July 2006, p. C1.

Remember that post of... oh... several days ago when I opined that someday soon American states would welcome in Chinese auto manufacturers like we do Korean and Japanese ones today?

As I have often said, it's tough to be a futurist right now. Economically, things are easily OBE, a phrase that began in the time of the Soviet bloc's rapid collapse.

Nanjing, the Chinese car maker, says it has $2B in investment to start rebuilding MGs, the old Brit car, here in the states. Awfully niche, this production goal, but an early indicator of things to come no doubt, as Chinese car makers want to build for here and there, as well as build them here and there.

More prosaically, Nanjing wants to give Mazda a run for its Miata money, which seems sensible enough. Can't have enough mid-life male crisis cars around.