[Superman]

I'm not so sure I should grace your post with any response, but I'll try again. I'm not bashing unions or American engineers. In fact, I am attempting to cut through your emotions to suggest that our engineers are second to none, and that we should be standing at the top of the world in terms of innovation and quality. Some will argue we are, but business strategy seems to have been ignored. Or at least pursued at the individual corporation level only. The Germans have done a thing called "differentiation." So have the Japanese. One of the questions I am asking is where you think we can compete the most effectively. Sure, a good strategy would be to compete in all those perceptual "markets," but I'm suggesting we're more like the Germans (building a better mousetrap) than the Japanese (stamp out a bazillion and make money on economies of scale). Perhaps I am speaking to some folks here, and not you.

But to respond directly to the tiniest and most divisive issues you seem to prefer: No, I don't think the German Engineering reputation is mythological or historical. Yes, I have noticed that American companies are making better cars. I notice that most of the parts and now much of the actual assembly happens somewhere else. And GM is caught with its pants down pursuing the quick buck and I kinda hope the judges allow it to die. I like Ford pickups, I've always liked Ford pickups and I own one now. Proudly. But beyond pickup trucks, I have absolutely no interest in any American cars. I'd be willing to pay to NOT have to drive one.

One of my boss' favorite cars is the Lincoln Towncar. He likes Jaguars. Smooth and quiet is largely what he's after, though he likes the styling of the Boxster. I don't, but he does. He was very very impressed with the large BMW he spent time in, in Germany. If you don't understand why, then you're probably not going to understand the love we have here for Porsches. 'Course, if your German car experience is limited to the 944, then that explains much of the disconnect we seem to be having.