John, are you saying that you don't have to be a German Mechanic to be a
competant mechanic? Do you expect us to believe that a US mechanic is just
as qualified as a German Mechanic?

Next thing you will be telling us is that US management is not the reason
for the US not being competitive in the world marketplace. You sound like a
radical.


"JohnH" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 19 Jul 2003 23:45:48 -0700, "jps" wrote:

Among the criteria for job satisfaction IMHO is admiring the engineering,
manufacture and assembly of the machinery. Finely crafted cars are a joy
to
work on. I wouldn't have cared where the cars were manufactured or who
manufactured them. As it turned out, I worked on German cars. They were
infinitely more interesting, pleasing and rewarding to work on. And,
because it took more than an average Joe to work on them, I made more
money
than those working on American cars.

As for mechanics, most of them are parts replacers. If you asked them to
solve a problem that didn't have a part # associated with it or a diagram
for assembly, most of 'em would throw up their hands. Automobile repair
used to be much more of a craft. There is great beauty in machines and
the
more the mechanic is an admirer of the craft, the closer that person
would
be to my own point of view. Mr. Goodwrench probably wouldn't fit my
expectation of a craftsman.

Some snipped.

jps, if the American mechanics saw your attitude, you'd be run right out
of
liberaldom.

Having spent many years in Europe, during all of which I drove German
automobiles or Italian motorcycles, I had a lot of interaction with German
auto
and motorcycle mechanics. It is true that becoming a 'certified' mechanic
in
Germany requires a formal apprenticeship program under a master. However,
it is
not true that the mechanics are all 'craftsmen'.

Auto mechanics generally make repairs by diagnosing the problem, then
either
replacing a part or making an adjustment to a part. Very seldom does a
mechanic
of any automobile craft a part to replace. Even German autos and Italian
motorcycles use parts with part numbers.

What makes a mechanic good is her/his ability to diagnose the problem and
efficiently repair it.

John
On the 'Poco Loco' out of Deale, MD