Germany went from envy of the world to the worst-performing major developed economy. What happened?
Germany went from envy of the world to the worst-performing major developed economy. What happened?
Germany racked up one economic success after another for most of this century. But the loss of Russian natural gas due to the war in Ukraine has dealt a severe blow to its industry through higher energy costs.
For most of this century, Germany racked up one economic success after another, dominating global markets for high-end products like luxury cars and industrial machinery, selling so much to the rest of the world that half the economy ran on exports.
Jobs were plentiful, the government’s financial coffers grew as other European countries drowned in debt, and books were written about what other countries could learn from Germany.
No longer. Now, Germany is the world’s worst-performing major developed economy, with both the International Monetary Fund and European Union expecting it to shrink this year.
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No more cheap russian gas and oil, internal combustion engine expertise and all the associated pieces and submarkets being phased out in favour of simpler electric cars...it's going to be a few hard years until they find a new export industry to perfect. I'd expect hydrogen-based aviation or pharma, maybe even semiconductors, they'll figure it out.
Well if Mercedes and BMW could stop making electric cars as ugly as humanly possible we would quickly see them take that market back. Lucid makes an INCREDIBLY gorgeous car and if I was in the market for an 80k plus dollar EV it would certainly be that over the ugly EQS sedan and the i7 EV with its buck teeth. The German automakers are stuck in a loop right now and I hope they’ll soon get out. As for Germany’s other economic sectors; much like the rest of the world everyone is still recovering from Covid economy shock. Especially when we went from producing nothing for 1-6 months, then slowly starting, then ramping up like crazy and now coming back down to reality. It’s going to be a rough couple years of Capitalism having to learn that businesses and economies staying flat isn’t a bad thing. No progress, but no loss either. Germany isn’t alone in this.
Ugly? Why do people fetishize their cars? I want it to work efficiently, be safe and cheap to maintain...if it looks like a gherkin, so be it 😄 The problem with German electric cars is not that, it's that atm they can't compete with China in price and they have no tech edge in supply chains anymore. Also, newer generations in Europe aren't as obsessed with owning a car anymore (I think).
I don’t want to live in an ugly home either, but it’s not because I fetishize fresh paint
Why do we like eating nicely prepared food instead of a ground up paste? Its just nutrients, right?
Why do we wear nice clothes? Theyre just for enduring heat and cold, so black robes for everyone should do, right?
Yes, I'm one of those people who wouldn't mind living in Zion, eating nutritious slop and wearing unremarkable homemade textiles ;)
PS: but I understand many people need to brag to their friends or impress their clients or make themselves feel better by displaying their status in some material way.
I just don't see any huge aesthetic differences between any of the cars for sale that would singlehandedly stop e.g. German electric cars from being sold: they all look like sleek solutions to a conditioned aerodynamics problem :D
Nothing to do with bragging or impressing people. Most people have their own tastes, just because for some reason you have no understanding of the concept of beauty doesnt make the rest of the world weird.
Sometimes it is, but even when it isn't, "taste" by itself is not by itself what is making people stopping themselves from an adequate vehicle.
This is what I was originally replying to and I think it's nonsense (regardless of how "refined" your taste is):
Well if Mercedes and BMW could stop making electric cars as ugly as humanly possible we would quickly see them take that market back.
Yes it may be an overstatement that Merc and BMW would rule the market if they started making appealing EVs, thats not what you were criticizing about the comment though. What you said was along the lines of 'why would people not buy cars they dont find appealing' and that just doesnt make sense.
I don’t think people wanting a vehicle they might have to commute daily in looking aesthetically pleasing quite meets the mark of fetishising. You might be ok driving a cube 2.0 but the rest of the market may not be and considering electric is trying to break into the established market of ICE…. Though to the larger point, most places could solve the problem by fixing/modernising public transport but that may just be too radical apparently.
Haha, yea, the only heresy greater than owning an ugly efficient car these days is riding a bus 😧, it seems.
Noone said you cant have an ugly efficient car if you want. But theres absolutely no reason to shit on people for wanting their own possessions to be nice. Sure its better to not buy a car at all, but if you need one you should be allowed to get one that you like.
Why are you replying here? I'm talking to you upstairs. Chill out.
Why would I reply to this comment under a different comment?
Not everyone is poor.