Having seen the problem all too often with German cars over the years (a lot of "Hangar Queens") and having helped friends fix them themselves has revealed frequent very high cost of parts, I arrived at a hunch. The Germans always have placed a high priority (and invested egos) on sophisticated design work - innovations, slick ideas, seamless designs, tight tolerances, etc. But, those minds do not seem to meld with the attitudes of guys who run production and quality control, Given the socialist bent of their society/economy, the worker bees may not invest the same pride and care when they are making/assembling vehicles and parts. Just a hunch.
