Now, now! This is an international board; no one has a nationalist (or anti-nationalist) agenda here, it's about machines. I reckon the typewriterman knows more about the comparative inner workings of the various machines than most of the rest of us put together, and I read his comment above as being good-humoured, in a kind of forensic way.

The conversation had already established that the US machines lacked some of the refinements of the European ones (though they are hardly without features or functions). I'm no engineer but I can appreciate how the amazing precision of the Hermes 3000, for example, feels when you type on it - or the Olympia SM9, quite possibly the best portable ever made (except for its sadly disappointing line space lever). Both of these consistently produced perfect results for me (aside from typos, obvs) even while I was still thrashing about trying to establish my own touch. Contrast this with my Royal experience where the quality of the typed page was totally dependant on my skill... well, that's clearly fantastically elegant engineering on the part of the Europeans. The US has always been suspicious of Europe, considering it effete (across art forms - think movies, fashion, cars, books, architecture, cars, food...) - America wants things to be solid, hardy, indeed hearty. Bigger. More Normal Rockwell and less Nouvelle Vague. So it's hardly surprising.

Btw, I have a Silent-Super and I love it - an early one, 1951 or so, that I brought back from the dead. It is wonderful and it feels somehow personal. But it's not an Olympia. And it looks like a grumpy grey boulder. I like that about it - but still. I had another one which was beautiful, a pale sea green colour with white keys. But no matter what I did, the escapement skipped - every so often, just  few extra spaces. I've never heard of that happening on a Hermes. (& the left margin thing happened too.)

Hermes grew out of hundreds of years of legendary Swiss clockworks; the good ol' US of A didn't have that. It had invention and energy and drive... And Hermes was a watch company for 100 years before it made a typewriter...

The Italians, The most effete, style-obsessed Europeans of them all. Think sports cars. I personally find the Olivettis a bit variable, in practice - but I have a L32 now that I'm very pleased with; really nice light-but-decisive touch, and reliable printing results. I had an interesting conversation once with Tom the typewriterman about how the L22s are much better constructed than the L32s - and although they look quite similar the design inside is different. And they're made with better metals. They have, as a result, quite a different feel. On the whole I prefer the L22 but my current one is a little spongy. But sooo beautiful. They're iconic machines - at the time, they spoke of a sleek new world, sophistication and lightness and possibility... they were heavily marketed on their sleek shape, their smallness, their lightness. By some US standards, maybe a little insubstantial. 

I also think there's another factor at play in C20 European design - of everything, not just these little machines - and that's the War. After the War, Europe was desperate to create a new world, a new set of possibilities, a whole new way of being that would prove that the lessons had been learnt and the old ways were no more. To create beauty. Look at eg Danish Modern furniture. America had different agendas.

So maybe 'crude' was an unfortunate word, it's easy to see that sleekness and sophistication aren't really the defining US values, and it is okay to say so. I know more about design than engineering, as you can probably tell... 
 

Yes, you are forgiven, though, the one who might need the foregiveness is me.  I have owned and serviced foreign-made typewriters and find them to be rather neat machines--especially the Olympias.  I have two SG-series standards I will one day fix up and paint.