kalamazookid wrote:
Noha307 wrote:
Hooligan2 wrote:
Does annoy me when I see references to Boeing DC-6s etc...
Oh, you mean like the
Boeing P-51 Mustang?

I've seen some people (on here, no less) claim the P-51 as part of Boeing's heritage because they bought North American Rockwell. If Toyota bought Ford tomorrow, would they get to claim the Model T as part of their heritage? Ridiculous.
When companies merge, both companies are in the merged entity's DNA. Just because a company got bought instead of buying (or sometimes was just the smaller partner in a non-acquisition merger) and therefore didn't get to be the name of the new entity, doesn't change that. Is it ridiculous to claim your mother's ancestors as part of your heritage because you have your father's surname? Admittedly, some aviation/aerospace companies had shrunk to the point where they were not much more than a collection of intellectual property by the time they got absorbed, with no meaningful personnel or plant left. It just depends. There was plenty of McDonnell Douglas surviving in Boeing for some time after the merger, and I'm sure some would say there still is. They kept building DC-9s as the 717 for some years post-merger, and still build the McD-D military aircraft. Boeing has a legit claim to the McD-D heritage. So to answer your rhetorical question, yes, if Toyota bought Ford tomorrow it very well might be able legitimately to claim the Ford heritage, depending on the circumstances of the merger. Do you not agree that Chrysler can claim the heritage of AMC, which in turn can claim the heritage of Willys? If not, how do you explain the fact that Chrysler makes Jeeps?
August