€Cars€

[markjay]

The Eurozone's foundational issues explained in layman's terms :

It’s too late for other Europeans to be as efficient as Germans - Telegraph

 

[grober]

Germany a huge European success----with a proportional voting system and coalition governments----who would have thought it? Not Boris obviously. General Election 2010: Gordon Brown will be in power for ever if Nick Clegg gets PR - Telegraph
Oh and by the way Boris your "German" car is quite likely to have been made in Spain Hungary or Slovakia---- do keep up at the back !

 

[Shude]

Oh and by the way Boris your "German" car is quite likely to have been made in Spain Hungary or Slovakia---- do keep up at the back !

Even if it's made in Germany it's done by Turkish employees.

 

[markjay]

Even if it's made in Germany it's done by Turkish employees.

We all drive this prestigious German marque called Mercedes Benz... yet many cars, mine included, were made in East London, South Africa. And VAG manage to make VW-quality cars in the Czech Republic. It is interesting to see that 'German' is a quality that transcends geography or demography. I wonder if the same can be said about 'British'?

 

[nick mercedes]

It is interesting to see that 'German' is a quality that transcends geography or demography.

The Spanish ones rust just as well as the German and South African ones...

 

[grober]

We all drive this prestigious German marque called Mercedes Benz... yet many cars, mine included, were made in East London, South Africa. And VAG manage to make VW-quality cars in the Czech Republic. It is interesting to see that 'German' is a quality that transcends geography or demography. I wonder if the same can be said about 'British'?

And yet---- many surveys over the years have constantly placed Japanese marques top of the reliability tables --- many of whom--- are manufactured in ----Britain.
Maybe we stereotype cars just like nationalities?

 

[st13phil]

And yet---- many surveys over the years have constantly placed Japanese marques top of the reliability tables --- many of whom--- are manufactured in ----Britain.
Maybe we stereotype cars just like nationalities?

It's not stereotyping, it's about the manufacturer's attitude to quality and their quality systems.

Back in the days of BL it was apparently a truism that British car workers were completely useless, and that they couldn't build a reliable product that lasted, so long as they had a hole in their rear end. Funny how those same production line workers can now produce reliable, long-lasting products for Nissan, Toyota, Honda and BMW to name just a few, isn't it?

The reality is that having a management team who understand what quality means, and a funding regime that doesn't concentrate on the current quarter's results to the exclusion of all other metrics, makes the production of high quality reliable products possible pretty much anywhere.

 

[tinker]

It's not stereotyping, it's about the manufacturer's attitude to quality and their quality systems.

Back in the days of BL it was apparently a truism that British car workers were completely useless, and that they couldn't build a reliable product that lasted, so long as they had a hole in their rear end. Funny how those same production line workers can now produce reliable, long-lasting products for Nissan, Toyota, Honda and BMW to name just a few, isn't it?

The reality is that having a management team who understand what quality means, and a funding regime that doesn't concentrate on the current quarter's results to the exclusion of all other metrics, makes the production of high quality reliable products possible pretty much anywhere.

Bang on the button, you work or have worked in the industry then?

 

[st13phil]

Not the automotive industry, but I am a manufacturing professional.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

It's not stereotyping, it's about the manufacturer's attitude to quality and their quality systems.

Back in the days of BL it was apparently a truism that British car workers were completely useless, and that they couldn't build a reliable product that lasted, so long as they had a hole in their rear end. Funny how those same production line workers can now produce reliable, long-lasting products for Nissan, Toyota, Honda and BMW to name just a few, isn't it?

The reality is that having a management team who understand what quality means, and a funding regime that doesn't concentrate on the current quarter's results to the exclusion of all other metrics, makes the production of high quality reliable products possible pretty much anywhere.

Excellent post Phil.

 

[Schuey]

British do the policing? We couldn't control the riots last year!!

German's are cleary doing something right, we need to learn from them.

 

[Stratman]

......................
Oh and by the way Boris your "German" car is quite likely to have been made in Spain Hungary or Slovakia---- do keep up at the back !

Maybe, but it had Germans poking them with sharp sticks until they got it right.

 

[Schuey]

Maybe, but it had Germans poking them with sharp sticks until they got it right.

Yes it's called outsourcing.

German's have created such a strong reputation with their quality brands over the years that their offshore colleagues must feel very lucky to work for such organisations.

German's will have initially invested heavily into their training/development and then drilled that same perfection attitude into their teams to produce and deliver a quality product.

All offshore teams are probably led by German Managers who are based in those countries making sure that standards are kept high.

 

[nick mercedes]

Yes it's called outsourcing.

German's have created such a strong reputation with their quality brands over the years that their offshore colleagues must feel very lucky to work for such organisations.

German's will have initially invested heavily into their training/development and then drilled that same perfection attitude into their teams to produce and deliver a quality product.

All offshore teams are probably led by German Managers who are based in those countries making sure that standards are kept high.

You make them sound like the master race.

Remember the mess BMW made of Rover or the mess MB made of Chrysler?

 

[Schuey]

You make them sound like the master race.

Remember the mess BMW made of Rover or the mess MB made of Chrysler?

Not my intention but clearly they know how to do business. There are clever people everywhere in the World.

I work for one of the Worlds Top 3 IT Consultancies and we happen to have one of the big German Car Manufacturers as one of our clients. It amazes me how professional the Germans are.

Just saying that overall if we look how strong the German economy is whereas everywhere else is in a crisis then we have to commend them and should learn from them.

 

[markjay]

Not al all... we British can do very well on our own, thank you very much. See:

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

"We had an outstanding year in 2011 and we should take a moment to reflect on this Great British success story," said Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. "

[YOUTUBE]NcZ8xXivTy4[/YOUTUBE]

Funny accent for an Englishman...

 

[Dieselman]

Back in the days of BL it was apparently a truism that British car workers were completely useless, and that they couldn't build a reliable product that lasted, so long as they had a hole in their rear end. Funny how those same production line workers can now produce reliable, long-lasting products for Nissan, Toyota, Honda and BMW to name just a few, isn't it?

Even more so given that the new manufacturers refused to employ people from the British car industry.

 

[st13phil]

Even more so given that the new manufacturers refused to employ people from the British car industry.

Some did, some didn't. There are still a few employees at the MINI plant at Cowley "from the old days", but that's not really the point. The notion that a British (or just about any nationality) workforce is unable to produce quality goods as a result of their country of birth is hogwash.

 

[grober]

It's not stereotyping, it's about the manufacturer's attitude to quality and their quality systems.

Back in the days of BL it was apparently a truism that British car workers were completely useless, and that they couldn't build a reliable product that lasted, so long as they had a hole in their rear end. Funny how those same production line workers can now produce reliable, long-lasting products for Nissan, Toyota, Honda and BMW to name just a few, isn't it?

The reality is that having a management team who understand what quality means, and a funding regime that doesn't concentrate on the current quarter's results to the exclusion of all other metrics, makes the production of high quality reliable products possible pretty much anywhere.

That was sort of the point I was trying to make--badly.

 

[Charles Morgan]

I wonder if the Japanese would have had the same results if they had opened factories here in the sixties or seventies?