German economy hits ten year high ...

[oracleslave]

In that case the US should be the largest exporter in the developed world as it has about 250 million people as opposed to Germany's 80 mill. And as all economists will tell you German labour costs are far higher than the US.
Factors for Germany's success (based on my over 15 visits over there for work and play):

- engineering prowess is respected not despised. Quite a lot of CEOs are engineering PhDs
- Germany has a superb apprenticeship scheme for the less academic, hence the quality of it's products
- Germans are much more sensible economically, debt is despised
- houses are homes not get-rich-quick schemes

But perhaps the overall advantage is intangible: German culture values substance over form, the real over the fake.

To the above I would add Branding. There is a perceived (correctly so in most cases) quality in German products in the eyes of the rest of the world making exporting that much easier.

[BlasterBates]

Its genetic, Brits can't make cars. I mean, seriously, would anyone here buy a British car, if there was one.

[threaded]

It's down to him that it survived the war, it's just ironic that we were helping speed up our own demise as a car manufacturer.

No, the 'profiteering' taxes and other measures brought in by the post-war Labour government were the blow that eventually killed much of British industry. Companies were prevented from replacing kit, and many were not allowed to sell what product there was a demand for, so fell behind.

Why do you think the British army would buy VWs and not British cars: because they were not allowed to buy the British ones!

[The Lone Gunman]

I think I need a lie down. I must be unwell. I agree with Assguru about why Germany is doing so well and with Pissbag about VW.

Guys VW was dead in the water. That Major or whatever is credited by everybody as being a visionary in resurecting it (obviously with the help of the workforce) single handedly.

I agreed with Assguru and pissbag in one thread. What is the world coming too. .

[sasguru]

I agree with Assguru .

You know it makes sense

[Lucy]

I think I need a lie down. I must be unwell. I agree with Assguru about why Germany is doing so well and with Pissbag about VW.

Guys VW was dead in the water. That Major or whatever is credited by everybody as being a visionary in resurecting it (obviously with the help of the workforce) single handedly.

I agreed with Assguru and pissbag in one thread. What is the world coming too. .

You need some medication.

[oracleslave]

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/04/...iness/jobs.php

It's not all rosy though.....


Germany, the world's leading exporter, has long been successful in shipping its state-of-the-art cars and machinery to just about every country.
Now, after importing workers for decades, it has a new entry on its export lists: jobless Germans.
Still plagued by high unemployment owing to the turmoil of reunification in 1990 and rigid labor laws, Germany has been helping its skilled and less-skilled jobless workers match up with foreign employers searching for manpower.

[expat]

Factors for Germany's success (based on my over 15 visits over there for work and play):

- engineering prowess is respected not despised. Quite a lot of CEOs are engineering PhDs
- Germany has a superb apprenticeship scheme for the less academic, hence the quality of it's products
- Germans are much more sensible economically, debt is despised
- houses are homes not get-rich-quick schemes

But perhaps the overall advantage is intangible: German culture values substance over form, the real over the fake.

Very well put. The cultural factor is the reason for all the rest.

[threaded]

I've taken to reading anything in the IHT with a huge pinch of salt since they did an article about Denmark and used one of my clients as an example. Similar thing about workers etc. except they were saying this company had problems getting staff. Seeing as the client has a permie employment policy the SS would be proud of, small wonder they couldn't get staff.

There again, the closer I am to a story I read in the paper the more I've learned not to believe anything written.

[Dow Jones]

Could only happen in the UK

The damage to the UK manufacturing and especially the automotive industry is long-term and irreversible. It all started with the nationalised British Leyland and continued with the various sell-offs and run-downs of all the well-known brands. Rolls-Royce and Bentley gone to the Germans, MG and Rover to the Chinese (the LABOUR Gov't couldn't 'find' £ 100m they needed short-term at the time), Jaguar and Land Rover to the Indians (the most recent one) for a combined £ 1 bn. It's amazing when you can't find anyone willing to invest such a relatively small amount for 2 superb brands, whereas all the hedge funds and private equities would fall over each other to buy a piece of land and build another huge office block in London ('Gherkin' sold for about that much recently, still only half-occupied and potentially falling in value).
Begs the qn why all the foreigners want to invest here then while we are banging on about our 'world-leading services industry' which is guranteed to go the way of manufacturing through sheer greediness and short-term profiteering.