Quote:
Originally Posted by Efthreeoh
Using your definition then, Honda, VW, Ford, GM, Toyota, Daimler-Benz, Subaru, Fiat, just to name a few, are all independents as is BMW.
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INDEPENDENT:
a (1) : not subject to control by others : self-governing (2) : not affiliated with a larger controlling unit <an independent bookstore>
Does that help? No one owns BMW, aside from investors and the Quandts. And yes, the companies you listed (except Subie) are indeed independent.
Just for reference, some that aren't and have been consumed by others include Rolls, Porsche, Mini (part of what was formerly Rover), Land Rover (also part of Rover, but no longer part of BMW), Aston Martin, Jaguar, etc.
In other words, no one in Japan, or the US, or France, calls the shots for BMW. I hardly think a single sports car platform being shared with Toyota will have much of impact on BMW's decisions, but perhaps it is the first chip in the wall, we'll see.
What I think you've mistaken for independent is solitary, or singular manufacturing. Lexus, Scion and soon Prius being brands of Toyota does not mean to anyone besides you and maybe some of your incorrectly informed friends that Toyota is in anyway something other than independent.