LP- Well Chop is on your side of the big pond. As for my dinosaur comments it applies to many of the parts other than the frame. The brakes are not exactly leading edge. For such a small bike it weighs a ton. Definitely could improve on the drive train too. Everything is Brompton specific so if you need a part, good luck getting them. These are my major concerns.
Now of course I expected things to be a bit off as well since people from the UK drive on the wrong side of the road. For example, it is nigh impossible to fit a decent mirror. And the only real chance to fit one that stays on the bike while folded must be on the right grip. Sadly a right hand mirror doesn't do the rest of the world (all 3+ billion of us that ride on the right side (right and correct) or the road. If you put in on the left grip it promptly buries itself in the ground. Who in their right mind would operate a vehicle without mirrors in traffic? This brings me to the next point that is mirror related. How are you mount mirrors on the "P" bars?
Sadly it takes all the titanium parts to get the weight down to a reasonable level for such a small package. This is the enigma of the Brompton. It is good on many levels and than fails miserably in others. Combine that with A to B's blind rah rah sycophant Brompton praise and you don't know what a pig you have until you get it home and undress it. Reading A to B's take on the Brompton I would have thought it was the second coming of Christ. Instead I found some chick from the Red Light district in Amsterdam but with a few (thousand) quid I can tart her up a bit so my friends won't laugh their arse off when they see her.
The reason I bought one is I needed that really small package AND I had enough $$$ laying around to transform it into something I could live with long term. Out of the box I hated the damn thing but it was better than walking.
I don't begrudge paying anyone a decent wage. God knows all you Brits and EU folks take it up the bum on taxes already. Last thing I would want to do is take away a pint from someone. Anyway I don't want to drift away from the bike topic so I'll leave it at that. One last thing, while I may live in America my family is from the Emeral Isle! Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!