Leading article: Pimp my ride
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference."Project Volvo" was the name given by Gordon Brown's senior team of advisers to their efforts to rebrand the former chancellor as a prime minister in waiting.
The Swedish car manufacturer is not happy with the secret document's association of Volvo (and Brown) with the attributes "dependable, robust but ultimately dour".
But perhaps Volvo (and the Brown team before them in 2006) are making a mistake in seeing this association as something negative. After all, many people like a Volvo, even if it's not the most exciting car on the forecourt. Not everyone wants a TVR (Blair), which looks terrific, takes you for a fast ride, but lets you down when it really counts. A Reliant Robin (Johnson, B) is great for a laugh, but you wouldn't want to drive it to work every day. The Rolls-Royce (Cameron) might scream upper-class elegance but it's liable to end up leaving the purchaser a good deal worse off.
Maybe Mr Brown's advisers were off the marque in their determination to trade up.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments