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> stereotypically German engineering: optimised for efficiency and cost, at the expense of longevity

I thought German engineering had the exact opposite image worldwide?

There's a difference between what the layman has been led to believe by Big Deutschland, and the reality experienced by those who actually have to deal with German designs. A lot of them are interesting and "elegant" on paper, but the good experiences usually end there. It feels like the fun factor of the design process is what's prioritized most heavily, which is great for the designers (and I don't say this facetiously; the fun is the #1 reason to do it at all, and I'm glad they make a living off it), and not-so-great for the poor fucker that has to repair a VW.

That's not to say that they always shit things up. I'll take Wago nuts over American style ones any day of the week. VW's VR6 engines are a simplification that would probably make my life a lot easier if I didn't have to buy them with the rest of the VW vehicle attached. There is so much more vision coming out of Germany in industrial controls than anywhere else it's outrageous. Life has its ups and downs, I guess.

Same here.

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