Stephen,
The chili history story was VERY informative. Thank you SO much.
Lurk,
This thread started with a question about where the kit car industry started. I was in the U.S. Air Force stationed in England most of the 70's and remember seeing many home built kit vehicles on the road. There was a big tax advantage to building your own car and the Lotus 7 was a big seller. Three wheelers were taxed as motorcycles and there were lots of those, too. When I returned to the States in '77, kit cars were a very rare sight. I remember the first one I saw was the Stallion Cobra replica in 1978. I know Steve Arntz got the ball rolling in the US during the 70's but the cars were not nearly as popular here as they were in "Jolly Olde".
If we had to pay the exorbitant road tax, VAT and gas prices that the British do, more people here might build their own cars, too. NEVER give up your right to bear arms.
Paul