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Seriously, as a Frenchman, if history has taught me ANYTHING about the Germans, it's that they're generally very apt at changing course, adapting and being ahea

Seriously, as a Frenchman, if history has taught me ANYTHING about the Germans, it's that they're generally very apt at changing course, adapting and being ahead of the curve. They have that image of not being the most flexible but when it comes to technology and industry, they're pretty damn good and I think they'll make that transition just like they've made all the necessary transitions before.

TomMarius 9y ago
They're conservative, but that has nothing to do with technological flexibility. The problem here would be the decision itself, not the technological side.
ginko 9y ago
A good counter example of this is the downfall of the German camera industry in the 60s and 70s. All that's left of that is Leica, Zeiss and a bunch of brand names (Rollei, Contax, Voigtländer..) stuck on Japanese cameras.
- arethuza 9y ago
  Contax isn't even that anymore (former happy owner of a 159MM many years ago).
- Keyframe 9y ago
  Maybe, but what's left is the stuff of legends. Zeiss (and Schott) are industry leaders, as is ARRI.
- jacquesm 9y ago
  Leica is junk nowadays.
- VeejayRampay 9y ago
  That's called finishing the game in expert mode and getting bored :)
- flavio81 9y ago
  >A good counter example of this is the downfall of the German camera industry in the 60s and 70s. All that's left of that is Leica, Zeiss and a bunch of brand names (Rollei, Contax, Voigtländer..) stuck on Japanese cameras. Classic camera nerd here. True, true, but mostly down to: a) the Japanese government helping optical and camera companies share technologies, instead of Germany where patent protection makes german camera companies do hard competition against each other and find all kinds of workarounds to prevent patent infrigement from the other brand. b) REALLY bad business decisions (for example, Zeiss-Ikon-Voigtlander at some point had something like 3 or 4 incompatible different lens mounts for their 35mm camera range) c) the Japanese making stuff cheaper because less labor costs, unions, etc d) Also, due to WWII war reparations, Russia and Japan 'inherit' all optical patents and designs from Zeiss germany which helps them build their optical (and camera) industry as quick as possible. e) German companies not foreseeing the japanese menace / not doing anything about it. Great website and article about this: http://www.klassik-cameras.de/Voigtlaender-Niedergang.html http://www.klassik-cameras.de/Voigtlaender-Niedergang.html (use Google translate)
usrusr 9y ago
"Big Auto" taking everyone by surprise with a massive battery manufacturing investment in Belgium? Now that would be a nicely utopian twist on the trope of history repeating. One could hardly make up a better symbol for what the EU is about, make profit not war. And yes, I completely made up that idea of German cars on Belgian batteries, just for the sake of historical analogy. But then I googled a bit and it turns out that Belgium, per capita, already has the biggest chemical industry worldwide. It might actually be a perfect match.

TomMarius 9y ago

They're conservative, but that has nothing to do with technological flexibility. The problem here would be the decision itself, not the technological side.

ginko 9y ago

A good counter example of this is the downfall of the German camera industry in the 60s and 70s. All that's left of that is Leica, Zeiss and a bunch of brand names (Rollei, Contax, Voigtländer..) stuck on Japanese cameras.

arethuza 9y ago
Contax isn't even that anymore (former happy owner of a 159MM many years ago).
Keyframe 9y ago
Maybe, but what's left is the stuff of legends. Zeiss (and Schott) are industry leaders, as is ARRI.
jacquesm 9y ago
Leica is junk nowadays.
VeejayRampay 9y ago
That's called finishing the game in expert mode and getting bored :)
flavio81 9y ago
>A good counter example of this is the downfall of the German camera industry in the 60s and 70s. All that's left of that is Leica, Zeiss and a bunch of brand names (Rollei, Contax, Voigtländer..) stuck on Japanese cameras. Classic camera nerd here. True, true, but mostly down to: a) the Japanese government helping optical and camera companies share technologies, instead of Germany where patent protection makes german camera companies do hard competition against each other and find all kinds of workarounds to prevent patent infrigement from the other brand. b) REALLY bad business decisions (for example, Zeiss-Ikon-Voigtlander at some point had something like 3 or 4 incompatible different lens mounts for their 35mm camera range) c) the Japanese making stuff cheaper because less labor costs, unions, etc d) Also, due to WWII war reparations, Russia and Japan 'inherit' all optical patents and designs from Zeiss germany which helps them build their optical (and camera) industry as quick as possible. e) German companies not foreseeing the japanese menace / not doing anything about it. Great website and article about this: http://www.klassik-cameras.de/Voigtlaender-Niedergang.html http://www.klassik-cameras.de/Voigtlaender-Niedergang.html (use Google translate)

usrusr 9y ago

"Big Auto" taking everyone by surprise with a massive battery manufacturing investment in Belgium? Now that would be a nicely utopian twist on the trope of history repeating. One could hardly make up a better symbol for what the EU is about, make profit not war. And yes, I completely made up that idea of German cars on Belgian batteries, just for the sake of historical analogy. But then I googled a bit and it turns out that Belgium, per capita, already has the biggest chemical industry worldwide. It might actually be a perfect match.