>> Unfortunately, engineering rarely changes the way someone feels about a product, marketing does. > I feel thats the main difference in philosophy between US and german car manufacturers. I guess theres is a place for both.

I'm not sure I agree. In Germany, marketing is still hugely important, it's just that they often focus on marketing engineering innovations. People don't select German cars because they have better engineering, they select them because they feel like they have better engineering. Marketing there still matters, but it's more tied up with the engineering.