There are plenty of other examples from America, including vintage Ford Mustangs, Winnebagos, Converse tennis shoes and Baseball. I spent a couple of years expatriated to Japan and learned that for a Japanese person to admit they had a hobby or interest actually meant they were expert with it. You wouldn't admit you 'enjoyed playing violin' in your spare time unless you were a maestro. If you were not an expert, you would not talk about your interests. If a Japanese colleague mentioned they had 1966 Mustang, you could be certain it was perfect. For many Japanese colleagues, if I spent enough time drinking with them, I'd find a surprisingly intense sense of pride and mastery in an obscure area of interest. You'd never know about it unless you spent time enough to get past their modesty so they'd talk about it. I'd venture that this is the source of the author's observation about not just copying, but improving.

There were also some pretty twisted counter-examples of not getting Americana quite right. I ran across an outer wear store named 'Violence Jack Off', display windows crowded with black leather jackets.[Edit]