I liked the fact our Land Rover has a British accent for the GPS.
That said, I’m originally from the UK and when I was there I set the GPS in my cars to use a US accent. So I guess we just want whatever is different…
I'm even older than
@Rexsio and grew up loving British sports cars. In the 60s my father sold his 1961 Buick convertible and bought a Sunbeam Alpine sports car. Later, he bought a Triumph TR-4. My brother had an MG-B and the first car I bought was a 1959 Austin-Healey 100-6. In the late 70s I had a 1968 Morris Mini Moke. British cars are special to me.
Now, possibly thanks to Brexit, the era of British cars appears to be drawing to a close. Rolls Royce, McLaren, Lotus, Jaguar, Morgan--all of these manufacturers are now owned by non-British companies. MINI, the last line of cars mass-produced in Britain, has begun the move to China. I am very happy to own one of the last British-built MINI Coopers even though the company is owned--and the car was designed--by BMW.
I appreciate that BMW designed their MINI to retain as much of the cache of the Alec Issigonis' miracle as possible. In the early days of the BMW MINI, the company enjoyed being quirky. Sadly, those days are over and the BMW bean-counters have pulled back on the reins. It is becoming more and more difficult to order a MINI the way you want it and soon the car will lose all its connections to Britain other than its name. It's good that poor Alec isn't still around (he'd be 116 years old) to see what's happening.
In light of where the MINI brand is going, I shouldn't be surprised BMW didn't implement a quirky British detail in a car that will soon be replaced by a Chinese version. Even if it doesn't sound British, I'm still very happy to own one of the last British-built MINI Coopers. However, I will be upset if the 2024 MINI Cooper SE speaks with a British accent.