the tesla dumb

[Ohmess]

I toured Ford, GM and Chrysler product development facilities in the late 90s, and Ford and GM engineers were emphatic that the German car manufacturers used far too much labor to manufacture their cars.

Shortly thereafter, German car makers sought to automate more highly their manufacturing processes as Japanese manufacturers, particularly Acura and Lexus, brought to market cars that rivalled the Germans in features and performance and beat them in initial quality.

They were not as good at it when they first set out to do it. Recall too that MB product development suffered when they foolishly attempted to learn about manufacturing automation from Chrysler following that acquisition.

But yes, they have closed the gap now. My wife has a 2014 E Class, and its nice. But their newer cars do not exude the same level of quality as older MB cars.

 

[Gazz]

Well, we will have feet in both camps when my wife's Genesis GV60 arrives next week. I still have my W204 AMG 507.
Having driven the Genesis several times I can say, as a lifelong driver and rider of performance vehicles, that I am seriously impressed with that car for its intended use, i.e., as a town car. The quality and eery quietness are outstanding and reminds me of the days when you would sit in a Mercedes and think " this is special". Genesis has a reputation to establish so I am hopeful that their attitude towards us as customers is focussed on building brand credibility.
For the sceptics out there, as I was, I urge you to test drive an EV, even if just for the experience. The way power and torque are delivered has to be experienced.

Re the Germans falling quality - why would any prestige manufacturer bother to engineer costly longevity into mainstream vehicles when they are flipped to bargain hunters at the end of a lease period of 5 to 7 years? For both the manufacturer and the customer the old idea of a car for life has become obsolete. It appears that if you do want a car for life get a Subaru. Check the reliability and customer satisfaction surveys and they consistently come out on top.