No country for old brands

Though most Americans consider themselves pretty astute when it comes to brands, how many of them actually know where their favorite brands are based? I know, it's kind of baffling. Kind of like the title of this post.

Take Volvo, for instance. Everyone knows Volvo is a Swedish. The company has been based in Gothenburg since it was founded in 1927. However, technically, it's an American-owned company since Ford bought it in 1999.

And how about your local filling station. Did you know that Shell Oil is a Dutch company? Maybe you did. And how about good old American 7-Eleven? Yep, Japanese.

Before I give the whole thing away, you can take the country-of-origin quiz yourself. It's really tough, so don't say I didn't warn you.

B. Brandon Barker also writes for Political Machine.