This is (probably) Warren's last blog from his December 1-13 reporting trip to Iran...

And with Christmas now upon us, it's a bit of a timely one, since with all those presents being unwrapped, it's a point in the year when we often think more about the quality of the products we buy.

As I've blogged before, I was struck by how wide and deep the genuine pro-American sentiment is in Iran, at many (although certainly not all) levels of society.

One manifestation of that is Iranians' love for American-made things, and their belief that U.S. quality is No. 1 in the world. This was explained to me by more than one Iranian, including a taxi driver who got angry when describing how the Chinese trucks imported by the Iranian government keep breaking down. But, oh, the big U.S.-made trucks imported before the Shah of Iran was overthrown in 1979! Those beauties, he said, eyes agleam, are still working.

Part of this may be a time-warp effect from the 1970s. U.S. manufacturing WAS No. 1 back then, and many of the U.S. products imported at that time of close U.S.-Iranian relations are still working--including a smattering of old Buicks, Jeeps and Chevys that still roll down Tehran's clogged streets. Part of it may also be the attraction of the forbidden. U.S. consumer products are available in Iran, to be sure, but most have to be re-exported from third countries due to U.S. sanctions, and they are overwhelmed by clothes, electronics, etc., from Europe and Asia.

To those of us bludgeoned by various official reports and the news media in to believing that the United States has been eclipsed by China, Japan and others, it's refreshing to be told incessantly how good Made in America is.

"(Bleep) Chinese products. It's ruined our economy," said 24-year-old Mohammad Mirzaei, who works in his father's clothing shop in south Tehran. The public's belief, he said (perhaps being a bit metaphorical) is that products made in Iran work for one day, those made in China work for three days, and those made in the U.S.A. work for a year.