VW is not Alfa Romeo

When a car is designed for the German market the focus of both maker and consumer is primarily on technical requirements, features and overall performance.

A Volkswagen, for example, is not an Alfa Romeo. Functionality is more important to Germans than beauty and elegance. Sachlichkeit – dispassion, objectivity, relevance, practicality – trumps emotions. As the Germans would say: Ordnung ist das halbe Leben – literally: order is half of life.

German children learn at an early age, in grammar school, that a presentation should be objective, unemotional and topic-oriented. They should speak in an even tone. Be objective, not emotional. The agenda and structure should be clear.

The German understanding of order is taught early, reinforced throughout one’s life, and then passed on to the next generations.