You are conflating design decisions with craftsmanship.
I would argue that they still pride themselves in the execution of the designs, even if you (and I) disagree with some of the design direction.
I would argue that they still pride themselves in the execution of the designs, even if you (and I) disagree with some of the design direction.
Statistically they may not be any better or worse than any other manufacturer, but I still can't convince myself that their craftsmanship is any better. The koreans pride themselves in their craftsmanship too, and their cars are a third of the price.
I love the older bmws for the driving experience but they require so much more maintenance than say a Lexus. The newer bmws meanwhile seem to be geared much more to the luxury market than driving enthusiasts (eg very few manual choices).
In general they were all beaters that barely ran, but they ran. One corolla went for 2 or 3 years without an oil change and had 2 cylinders with low compression. Friend never got it fixed, but the car was still running (although with very low power). I actually think the general reliability of these cars leads to them being in worse shape. They're running so why bother to fix it. The owners also had a drive it until it dies approach, just generally took a long time to die.
Employees maybe but the company strives to be a mobility service provider nowadays.