Repair-It

This is a big deal.

http://blog.caranddriver.com/zf-buys-tr ... -supplier/

I don't know if this is good news in terms of competition.

Interesting comment:

Putting aside the Geo-political and socio-economic garbage from the US news cycle. As an automotive engineer I can attest that working with Chinese and Korean engineers is a relative pleasure compared to the Germans.

Bob?

A rebuttle:

Sure. When your quality control and standards are lower, I am sure they are easier to meet. I know folks that work at these suppliers and they too complain that the Germans are difficult to work with, particularly VW Group, but they say that is because they have their own standards and processes to follow.

As a consumer, I appreciate this more.

I actually find German engineers to be pretty reasonable to work with, although they often spend too much time focusing on things that don't really matter (complex product launch processes, paperwork, etc). The Koreans and Japanese are much more difficult to work with than the Germans. The Koreans are too emotional and often ignore the facts when they have already made up their mind about something. The Japanese often get stuck in the minutia and can't see the big picture when working on a project. My preferred working partners by nationality (based totally on my own personal bias):

1. American
2. British
3. Chinese
4. German
5. French
6. Canadian
7. Japanese
8. Korean

What's wrong with the Canadians?

Maybe I was a bit hard on them or have just had some bad experiences. Sometimes they can be incredibly picky and follow the rules too closely.

Rule following is for nerds.

Your list mostly makes sense. England/UK makes sense as they are probably trying to cling onto any remaining industry. China also makes sense since they're outwardly capitalist (and inwardly communist...).

Your explanation of the Koreans and Japanese also makes sense. So what's left is ranking the Canadians, Germans and French, and I guess they're middle-pack. And so it is.