Eins, Zwei, Zehn: An Expat's Adventures in Deutschland, part 1/10

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - Cars

(the beneficial points, the downsides, and the controversial points)

TL;DR: Lots of choices, investment, and developments, on good infrastructure. The downsides pale in comparison. 4.5?/5

The Good ??

*though see The Bad

1. the best thing about cars in Germany is not needing one if you live in a major city. The choice of short-term rental (by the minute, by the km, etc.) is fantastic and adaptable to almost every situation.
2. jobs! this industry employs close to 800.000 people. It's a motor (pun intended) for the economy, human development and people's livelihood. Getting a job connected to this industry is a strong possibility!
3. innovation - over the last century, many innovations stemmed in Germany. My favourite recent topic is the clearance Mercedes-Benz got in the US for L3 autonomous driving, a first in any brand!
4. fantastic roads and Autobahns* - famous for the absence of max speed, these roads are also safe and wide. But the countryside roads also deserve a mention on the list, for they are incredibly well-kept and offer stunning views!
5. no tolls at all!* - no toll charges, no vignette (stamps), nothing. Drive as much as you want, it's magically ?? paid for!
6. small traffic fines* - parking fines are cheap, towing seems non-existent and even speeding tickets are under €100. Just don't push the speed limits when they do exist!
7. usually very high courtesy on the roads - use your direction blinkers and you'll generally be left to overtake or merge into a junction. No honking the horn, showing of middle-fingers, or road rage episodes. Generally.
8. some of the lowest traffic-related death rates in the world, which is admirable considering point 4).
9. options to carpool with other users are possible! "Mitfahrgelegenheit" is a thing!
10. if you truly need a car, besides a broad choice of quality brands, there's also a myriad of options for either leasing or buying your car (besides company cars!)
11. the low buying prices! Cars are cheaper in Germany, in absolute terms, than almost anywhere else! Don't believe me? Opel Corsa 1.2 (PT€17930/DE€19800 ?). VW ID.3 Pro (PT€44832/DE€39995?). Audi Q4 (FR€53000/DE€51900?). BMW 520i Touring (ES€60700/DE€56800?).
12. there's a fierce following of classic cars. Am I reminiscing? Are these svelte and/or muscular cars supposed to be adored? Maybe it's just a hobby or an expression of freedom. And though I can't vouch for the impact of their carburetors on the environment, they mean where's a will, there's a way!
13. the gas prices are in line with the rest of Europe's, meaning it's an efficient system. Furthermore, there's some sort of free market, meaning prices will be different at different gas stations and they'll fluctuate multiple times a day - pick your bargain!

The Bad ??

1. having the asphalt in top condition requires also a lot of construction work, the famous "Baustelle". Usually one can't have a longer commute with some dozens of km with reduced lanes and the speed limited to 60-80 km/h.
2. I'm unclear on how the roads get funded but having no tolls usually means some people pay them through other means (fuel? car prices? road tax?) or everyone pays for them (general taxes), the latter being unfair.
3. low coverage for EVs charging, at least in the city and in the few dozen times I've tried it (or with friends visiting - they weren't amused). Either the stations are busy or far from where you want to park. It's not yet an ubiquitous option but I trust it'll improve.
4. low tolerance for fines; exceed the speed limit for as little as 8 km/h (I'm not even sure of the rule) and you'll get fined. OK, I got fined a few times, I'll get over it. ??
5. often the case of severe congestion on the Autobahns during school holidays. A lot of people pick the same dates (understandably if one has kids in school) and the same places (this I don't get). Result? A trip of 4 hours easily takes 6. Standstills on the otherwise uber-fast Autobahns. People come out of the car to talk to others. Yes, it happens.
6. definitely more polluting than taking a train but this can be offset with fuller cars or carpooling options mentioned above.
7. the caravan/motorhome culture. There's a huge passion for going on vacation either with a caravan attached to your car or driving a motorhome itself. Which, besides burdening the poor neighbouring countries with wealthy tourists, is not an issue. The issue lies in 2 other points: parking and environmental impact. Because those behemoths need to be parked somewhere for the 11 months/year when they're not being used (a nuisance in some free parking spots throughout Munich). And while cute, most of those are old and highly polluting (sure the new VW ID.Buzz is electric and pretty but why not drive a vintage VW T2 (1967) or T3 (1979) that use ~15 liters of fuel per 100 km and emissions-that-predated-any-measurements?

The Ugly ??

1) the persecution of Diesel engines - some cities are banning all but the most modern Diesel engines. Even though there are issues with PM2.5 and NOx emissions, the studies aren't fully conclusive of the impact and the industry was facing this head-on (with Euro6 standards for example). Some politicians are opposing this move quite loudly.

2) scandals like Dieselgate are unforgivable but the silver lining is to make improvements in the industry as a whole. Why did only a handful of people quit their jobs and the highest legal penalties were suspended sentences? ??

3) car tourism - it's probably not a big thing but it's puzzling to see the owners of supercars flying their cars across continents and parking them in front of 5* hotels, knowing they'll be able to flaunt their wealth and see how far right their odometres will go on the Autobahn (are people untrained on these roads be safe? is it ethical to fly your car over to another continent just to drive it on the red line?). While I'm fine with the former, I'm not fine with the latter - we should all be part of the solution, not the problem.

4) halted development of combustion engines and forced transition to EVs. Some brands have halted the development of modern combustion engines. EVs are subsidised even though the energy grid isn't green, there's not abundant charging infrastructure, there's a ton of knowledge (and jobs) needing to be thrown away (or reconverted, which will take years) and it's unclear how the mining of ore will be done until 2030. If all the brands can output the necessary amount of cars.

Over to you: What did I miss? What did I get it wrong? Anything surprising? What matches your experience or expectation of Germany in this particular aspect? Let me know, for I know I'm biased and I definitely don't know enough about so many things!

And even though I have an idea of what to write about next: is there anything I definitely should write about? Let me know!