How would you rate engineering quality by country

kwerk

kwerk

kwerk

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Efficiency, design, reliability, build quality, safety, just general thoughtfulness.

Lets limit it to consumer goods. If you were going to buy a car, washing machine, firearm, lawn mower or the like, which country's companies do you trust the most when you see the "Made in _____" label?

From best to worst IMO:

TOP 10

  1. Switzerland
  2. Germany (lets include Austria too)
  3. Japan
  4. Scandinavia
  5. Canada
  6. Australia
  7. South Korea
  8. France
  9. USA
  10. Israel

Others:
  • Italy
  • Britain
  • Spain
  • Greece
  • Croatia/Serbia/Czech/Poland/Lithuania, former Eastern Bloc
  • Mexico
  • Brazil
  • Chile, Argentina, Peru
  • Russia
  • China
  • India
  • Africa
 
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China is a bit of an odd one really, in the white goods world most of what comes out of China is garbage then you look at all the Apple products that are made there and the build quality is first class.
 
really Switzerland and Scandinavia? (and i thought you said by country?)



I've put Brittan pretty high up the list given we're one of the worlds major exporters of jet engines and nuclear reactor components.
 
'Made In' != 'Engineered In'. We're awesome at engineering high end stuff, end of. For that matter though, how many engineering departments in any country are solely of one nationality? So who's to say any company has a particular 'country' of engineering?
 
^Indeed

Some of the best and some of the worst comes from China, it's a bit brash to tar them all with the same brush.
 
I hardly ever seen white goods from Chile, a few shotguns maybe of mediocre quality.

I get a lot of food stuffs from Chile though and for some reason they seem quite trustworthy. Fish, meat, fruit, berries. They seem to be a top exporter.

Maybe the list should be kept to the top 10 countries.
 
If you look at cars, Japanese makers are often ranked top in surveys, even if you ask a mechanic, they would tell you they see fewer Honda or Toyota.

Although it does not take into account how many and what kind of cars the local demographic drives.
 
Chris1712 said:
'Made In' != 'Engineered In'. We're awesome at engineering high end stuff, end of. For that matter though, how many engineering departments in any country are solely of one nationality? So who's to say any company has a particular 'country' of engineering?
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Yes I was simplifying things. We could say "supervised in" or whatever. But with Honda for example, the cars made in Japan are better quality than the ones made in the US under supervision. It's gets a bit complicated in that case.


I would take a Japanese/USA Honda over a USA/USA Chevy.

Would you rate a "German" VW over a "South Korean" Hyundai for example.

Or an Samsung vs Bosch dishwasher?

Just in general terms.
 
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For cutting edge stuff, Britain is very high up there. You need look no further than F1 and realise than nearly every team is based in Britain to notice this.

Not sure why you'd put China high on engineering quality? Quantity of low quality goods exported / made by China is huge, but engineering quality? **** poor.
 
I suppose you could analyze it by gross stereotypes of their engineering cultures.

Japanese - known to be anally retentive, reliable products. CEOs will commit suicide if they made a mistake.

South Koreans - try to copy Japan.

Germans - more anal retents. Efficient.

Swiss - take your time to make it perfect and dont worry too much about cost.

British - you want to like it but just not very well implemented or reliable (Land Rover).

Chinese - do the cheapest quickest thing that looks like it works until you can sell it.

Indian - do what the British were doing 50 years ago.

Italians - form over function a lot of times.
 
I'd put the UK quite high on that list, certainly above Australia. Oh and Germany (not including Austria) really should be top the list.
 
kwerk said:
British - you want to like it but just not very well implemented or reliable (Land Rover).
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really unlucky that our most valuable/biggest export is nuclear reactor components then. And also every wing on every airbus aeroplane.

guess we're all ****ed.
 
Also good manufacturing =! good engineering.

Formula 1 I'd guess probably attracts the best engineers (in automotove engineering) in the world. Look at the wide range of nationalities you have in it.

edit:

F1 cars break down a lot :p

Poor engineering?
 
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Since you left out some stereotypes I've corrected your post for you...

kwerk said:
I suppose you could analyze it by gross stereotypes of their engineering cultures.

Japanese - known to be anally retentive, reliable products. CEOs will commit suicide if they made a mistake. Also they like schoolgirl porn.

South Koreans - try to copy Japan. Like to commit suicide by playing games in an internet cafe for 3 weeks straight.

Germans - more anal retents. Efficient. Take all the bloody chairs round the pool.

Swiss - take your time to make it perfect and dont worry too much about cost. Ummm

British - you want to like it but just not very well implemented or reliable (Land Rover). Have bad teeth and all speak like Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins.

Chinese - do the cheapest quickest thing that looks like it works until you can sell it. Ah so.

Indian - do what the British were doing 50 years ago. With better teeth.

Italians - form over function a lot of times. Only have 1 gear and that's reverse.
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You're welcome.
 
whilst I don't debate whether Germany should be high in the list - I do wonder whether some are just repeating what they've heard elsewhere.

for example German cars are far less reliable than many think.
 
ElliorR said:
Since you left out some stereotypes I've corrected your post for you...
Click to expand...

The British 'bad teeth' stereotype is some bizarre thing the yanks have about us mostly because they believe that teeth need to be bleached unnaturally white in order to look 'healthy'. In reality British people have subsidised, affordable dental care leaving us requiring less fillings on average than Americans, lots of whom can't even afford to go and see a dentist.
 
Bitish engineering is up there with the best. We make incredibly high quality products and original designs, I have worked for leaders in their field, be it oil and gas, aerospace, or marine (and still do). You might not get it on time and it will be expensive, but you will get it, and it will be of the highest quality possible.
 
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