If GERMAN And JAPANESE Engineering Is SO Superior, WHY Are They Getting Their ASSES Handed To Them In Innovation By Americans At Tesla And Ford?

You've all heard the lines...The ULTIMATE Driving Machine, There IS No Substitute, The RELENTLESS Pursuit of Perfection, The BEST or Nothing, Dorks Shprung Der Weiners (trying to be funny), etc.

ALL of them claim superiority in one shape or another.

And for a LONG time, they had a healthy lead on the other competitors.

There's nothing like German engineering or Japanese precision. At one time, yes.

But it seems those superlatives don't live up to what they used to these days in the most important component of auto companies today. Technology and Innovation.

All of sudden Tesla and to a much smaller extent even Ford have shattered those holy beliefs.

Example. Porsche had nine years and ONE job. BEAT the range of a Model S and STEAL the game away from Elon. Nope, didn't happen.

And look at our streets in the USA LITTERED with electric 5-series, Mercedes EV Suv's,etc. NOT HAPPENING. In virtually EVERY way in EV's they're not only being foiled, but EMBARASSED. I mean c'mon, did ANY of you think the best EV outside of Tesla would end up being a Ford Mustang? Uh, no one called that. But all indicators show the Mach-E seems to be the closest at a compelling argument to a Model Y.

We could wax on but you get the picture.

So tell us Spies, will I be correct in my prediction that in 10 years the Germans will be as irrelevant in USA consumer sales as the English and the Italians?

And the bigger question...Are the Germans and Japanese car companies as GOOD as they claim to be anymore? And do they need to change their taglines to ones like: There ARE Substitutes, The Relentless Pursuit of Tesla, or The Top 10 or Nothing?

Spies, discuss.

CANADIANCOMMENTS - 8/15/2020 10:14:57 PM

+1 Boost

Germans need to flip the script

-No more crap quality cars/suvs parts or builds
-No more ticking time bombs that fall apart after 3 years
-Take a page from Toyota and build to that standard
-Benchmark and beat Tesla by 10% at least (no excuse really)

Car4life1 - 8/15/2020 10:19:29 PM

+3 Boost

Let’s relax, I too am excited to see America leading in an area of the auto sector after having its ass handed to them for decades in luxury by the Germans and family sedans by the Japanese...it’s about time

But don’t get too comfortable...trust me...the Germans are coming and let’s not forget Mercedes & Toyota saves Tesla from an early death...Benz still working on future collabs with the EV maker

But yes, Tesla had a bumpy start and is now thriving...the next 5 years will be interesting

NewQ - 8/16/2020 1:30:05 AM

+2 Boost

Tesla is a firecracker, and the Germans and Japanese are slow burning fires.

They'll catch up, and they're relentless.

Tesla also has investor and CEO money to play with. They don't have to worry about turning a profit or financial discipline. Plus, they're a new brand with no expectations, and they came strong out of the gate with a huge industry-shifting power play, which led people to forgive or forget the gaps in quality they would have otherwise expected from an automaker.

Tesla is playing more like a tech company than an automobile company.

This is not to dismiss Tesla's success or influence, but it's been in new areas that are different competitive advantages vs. legacy automakers.

Also, let's not forget the long dark shadow GM and FCA have cast over the American automobile's reputation.

In 40 years, GM has gone from crap to "okay", and FCA is still crap. There's a reason American cars are considered bad; it's a well-deserved reputation, and I'm glad to see Tesla upend it.

stiffy - 8/16/2020 3:00:07 AM

0 Boost

He is not born American. I won't take too much credit.

stiffy - 8/16/2020 3:02:11 AM

0 Boost

*Elon is not born American. I won't take too much credit.

TomM - 8/16/2020 6:56:48 AM

0 Boost

I cannot believe that a reporter for this site actually BELIEVES the ADs for these cars. Japanese cars NEVER were better engineered - they were generally behind the times - and they built a reputation on their Small cars - that often had the minimum amount of equipment possible - which made them reliable because there was Little to break. A car that had a 4 cylinder - crank windows - a Manual Transmission - manual Steering and brakes - went forward and backwards and lasted a LONG time. They were also TINY - had very little room inside - certainly never "Handled" well - and could not get out of their own way.

THere was a time - I know you are not that old - that ALL the innovation in cars came from the USA - For a long time - even Mercedes BEST car was a 6 cylinder when virtually every GM brand had a V8. Gm essentially invented the AUtomatic Transmission - for years even ROLLS ROYCE used them. Mercedes and RR used Delco Air Conditioner compressors for years too. ANd the Personal computer - upon which most innovation is based on today - came from here as well. The electric starter was designed for Cadillac by longtime GM Engineer Charles Kettering.

ANd while today - manufacturing of these things have often been sent to Near third world countries - these countries did not invent them.
.

arrowmg - 8/18/2020 7:34:43 PM

+1 Boost

this is a terrible take. the equipment in the japanese luxury/premium cars didn't break neither, and they gave you many features as standard that the germans made you pay more for - twice! Because you paid more for the german chassis and engine, and then you paid additionally to option the thing up. I remember back in 2002 a friend of mine bought a new bimmer that had less features standard than my 8 year old '94 Q45. Sold it in 2005 and everything was still working on that car. Every infiniti i've owned up until last summer went into the dealer only for oil changes, mile maintenance, and tire rotations.

Yonder7 - 8/16/2020 9:45:50 AM

+1 Boost

This is the quality order in my Country:
Japan
Korea
Germany
England
Italy
United States.
China
Not sure why Ford means Fix or Repair Daily and anything comming from GM is considered Bad.
My personal opinion in Inovation:
Germany
United States.
Japan
Korea.

MrEE - 8/16/2020 10:21:17 AM

+2 Boost

Starting in the 90's, the Japanese started to their lead in technology, quality and value. Toyota and VW will recover the setback from Tesla. In 10 years, all others are in question.

MDarringer - 8/16/2020 10:26:12 AM

0 Boost

The Japanese:

Toyota is still pretty OK for "game".

Honda lost focus 20+ years ago and started coasting. They destroyed Acura's momentum and started chasing Toyota blandness. And when they are criticized for being bland, they give you ugliness like the Civic, Accord, and Odyssey.

Nissan got raped by Renault.

Mitsubishi gave up on product development and joined Isuzu and Suzuki to build Third World specials.

Subaru is content building Kenosha-worthy crap.

Mazda got booted from Ford and has been in decline because it cant find a partner to prop them up like Ford did.

The Germans just believe in their own infallibility. It's their cultural Hitler complex.

Car4life1 - 8/16/2020 2:25:43 PM

0 Boost

Yup this guys losing it...

Hard to believe he sales cars for a living when the most idiotic things fly out his mouth

MDarringer - 8/16/2020 2:46:20 PM

-1 Boost

#StrawMan #YouLose

Car4life1 - 8/16/2020 3:20:40 PM

0 Boost

#TinyMan #YourLifeIsALoss

MDarringer - 8/16/2020 4:23:12 PM

-1 Boost

Notice your obsession.

Car4life1 - 8/16/2020 6:01:01 PM

+1 Boost

Notice your delusion.

cidflekken - 8/17/2020 12:13:53 PM

+2 Boost

Seems like saying just because Lebron is a phenomenal basketball player, he would make a great baseball player. At least that's my take.

Kudos for Musk for taking Tesla and making it a formidable brand. I'd like to see him make a petrol-driven car that rivals some of today's best. Or even Ford build a proper luxury car to rival.

ctsang - 8/17/2020 1:21:43 PM

+2 Boost

world best engineers move to USA

dlin - 8/17/2020 4:45:23 PM

+1 Boost

As long as there's no substitution for US weapons, who cares about car money?

cidflekken - 8/17/2020 5:07:53 PM

+3 Boost

That's almost like saying that just because you're an established car company then you should be the leader in every area of the industry. Never going to happen. Let's see Musk build a petrol-powered car that bests any of the Germans. Or Ford for that matter. Every car company has their strengths.

MrEE - 8/17/2020 7:08:09 PM

+2 Boost

Tesla gives the US a chance to be in the top three in a decade.