Commenter Of The Day: Texas Independence Day Edition

On this day, 173 years ago, Texas declared its independence from Mexico and formed the Republic of Texas. The state is the only one able to claim it was once a sovereign nation. This fact has guided Texas since, contributing to the boastfulness held in its motto: The Lone Star State. The Texas State Capitol is actually 14-feet taller than the U.S. Capitol in Washington. In his book, Travels With Charley, Steinbeck notes that, despite their outward appearance of arrogance, there's a kind soul within most Texans. "Outside their state I think Texans are a little frightened and very tender in their feelings, and these qualities cause boasting, arrogance, and noisy complacency – the outlets of shy children. At home Texans are none of these things. The ones I know are gracious, friendly, generous, and quiet." Like Texas, Volvo was once a sovereign company. Now it looks like the Chinese are buying it and Engineerd wonders if it'll change the company's character.

I just hope that finding a good Chinese car won't be as difficult and gut-wrenching as finding good Chinese food. My wife and I recently tried the three Chinese restaurants around us and I came away with this:

Chinese Restaurant #1: Very bland. Yet, very popular. Sad.

Chinese Restaurant #2: Horrible. Caused indigestion and diahrrea for two days.

Chinese Restaurant #3: Actually good, but about 25% more expensive than the first two.

Come to think of it, this pretty much describes Toyota, Chrysler and Volkswagen. The Chinese should have no problem in this market.

It's like a whole 'nother country. And that country is China.

Photo by Laanba