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>German cars are, in general, of far higher-quality, compared to American cars. Automotive EE here. This is so misleading it might as well be labeled as fictio

>German cars are, in general, of far higher-quality, compared to American cars. Automotive EE here. This is so misleading it might as well be labeled as fiction. The German MODELS that you are familiar with are higher tier vehicles. Notice I did not say the brand was high quality. The truth is 30 plus years ago, ok, fair statement with that note above. But now… almost all brands are using the same suppliers and the same processes. Your seats come from Johnson Controls or Recaro or a mfg you have never heard of but makes Ferrari seats on the same lines as their Toyota seats. There are three ABS / brake system / traction-stability module makers worldwide plus some trash ones in China. The X module in a Fiat is the same part number as that same module in the La Ferrari. The McClaren 500s and 600s use an Android based screen made by the same people that make the one of Polaris. Not to be too general here, but it’s all the same shit. Yes, specs matter. But your programming is coming out of India whether you drive a G Wagon or a Ford. The disparity in your post, is not only about tarrifs, but also the size of the most popular Ford GM Stellatis vehicles. That the above three lose money on their cars and basically only push them as hard as they do in order to tilt CAFE scales. No offense meant, it’s just that when people talk about cars, 99% of the time they have no idea what they’re talking about and myths become reality.

LeonB 1y ago
I spent a little time writing software for a plastic injection moulding company who supplied parts for a range of different automotive suppliers. You could say that they were all made the same way — they were all moulded from tiny little plastic balls that are melted down — but the reality is that there was a huge difference in the products produced for each vehicle. The vent for an A/C is one example. To produce that piece for a Ford might be one piece of plastic, which falls off the conveyor at about 1 every 20 seconds. The same piece for an Audi would take 3 different types of plastic, and some rubbery material, and would take about two minutes per unit - as well as some assembly, by a human, before it is done.
- SV_BubbleTime 1y ago
  Injection molding and engineering over the last 20 years has basically been homogenized to works and doesn’t work. I can promise you at Diamler, they’re designing the shape of the vent, and sending it to the supplier just like GM is doing. Same suppliers, and the details are being offloaded for like ten reason but among them is that it doesn’t make sense to have the mold experts in house, and every supplier knows their machines and abilities, the customer doesn’t.
kiitos 1y ago
It is misleading to say that "all brands are using the same suppliers" and straight up false to say that they're using "the same processes", especially in the context of German cars (I'm referring to all German cars, not just premium makes from Mercedes or BMW) vs. American cars. There is a universe of difference between VW's manufacturing process and Chrysler's process, which is pretty self-evident if you drive a VW and a Chrysler back-to-back, there really isn't any comparison.
- SV_BubbleTime 1y ago
  The best part about this, as I don’t need to argue with you at all. You can have your opinion, unobstructed by my career experience. Same suppliers, same processes, sometimes the engineering is a little better or worse. I can promise you the Volkswagen has made absolute goddamn bonehead fucking mistake mistakes, where Chrysler has solved that X problem since the 80s. And that a high-end Mercedes AMG has some worse Y than any Hyundai on the road. The truth is the suppliers built vehicles. There are good and bad decisions by vendors and suppliers everywhere. But it’s all coming out of the same shops. CARpocalypse 2008 was not about bailing out GM Chrysler. But knowing if either of them went down, the entire automotive industry was going to knock on and tumble over.
  - kiitos 1y ago
    You're suggesting the quality of a car is a function of the quality of its constituent parts. That's not the case. Quality is a function of those things, but also and more importantly the processes by which the car is assembled, and really ultimately dominated by the end-user experience of the driver.
    - SV_BubbleTime 1y ago
      >processes by which the car is assembled Jesus man, stop. What industry are you in? Because if it isn’t automotive, just stop. And if it is automotive, have your managers send you to a plant. It’s like you think someone is turning wrenches to assemble your car :D short version… wrenches are not allowed in major production lines of any brand.

LeonB 1y ago

I spent a little time writing software for a plastic injection moulding company who supplied parts for a range of different automotive suppliers. You could say that they were all made the same way — they were all moulded from tiny little plastic balls that are melted down — but the reality is that there was a huge difference in the products produced for each vehicle. The vent for an A/C is one example. To produce that piece for a Ford might be one piece of plastic, which falls off the conveyor at about 1 every 20 seconds. The same piece for an Audi would take 3 different types of plastic, and some rubbery material, and would take about two minutes per unit - as well as some assembly, by a human, before it is done.

SV_BubbleTime 1y ago
Injection molding and engineering over the last 20 years has basically been homogenized to works and doesn’t work. I can promise you at Diamler, they’re designing the shape of the vent, and sending it to the supplier just like GM is doing. Same suppliers, and the details are being offloaded for like ten reason but among them is that it doesn’t make sense to have the mold experts in house, and every supplier knows their machines and abilities, the customer doesn’t.

kiitos 1y ago

It is misleading to say that "all brands are using the same suppliers" and straight up false to say that they're using "the same processes", especially in the context of German cars (I'm referring to all German cars, not just premium makes from Mercedes or BMW) vs. American cars. There is a universe of difference between VW's manufacturing process and Chrysler's process, which is pretty self-evident if you drive a VW and a Chrysler back-to-back, there really isn't any comparison.

SV_BubbleTime 1y ago
The best part about this, as I don’t need to argue with you at all. You can have your opinion, unobstructed by my career experience. Same suppliers, same processes, sometimes the engineering is a little better or worse. I can promise you the Volkswagen has made absolute goddamn bonehead fucking mistake mistakes, where Chrysler has solved that X problem since the 80s. And that a high-end Mercedes AMG has some worse Y than any Hyundai on the road. The truth is the suppliers built vehicles. There are good and bad decisions by vendors and suppliers everywhere. But it’s all coming out of the same shops. CARpocalypse 2008 was not about bailing out GM Chrysler. But knowing if either of them went down, the entire automotive industry was going to knock on and tumble over.
- kiitos 1y ago
  You're suggesting the quality of a car is a function of the quality of its constituent parts. That's not the case. Quality is a function of those things, but also and more importantly the processes by which the car is assembled, and really ultimately dominated by the end-user experience of the driver.
  - SV_BubbleTime 1y ago
    >processes by which the car is assembled Jesus man, stop. What industry are you in? Because if it isn’t automotive, just stop. And if it is automotive, have your managers send you to a plant. It’s like you think someone is turning wrenches to assemble your car :D short version… wrenches are not allowed in major production lines of any brand.