Gears were seizing up and gaskets burning out long before the emergency stop on the autobahn. Now the consensual German model of business has suffered multiple mechanical failures. Wirecard, the payments group that bolstered German tech credentials, has imploded in fraud. Bayer is taking up to $11bn in charges mostly triggered by a disastrous US takeover. Once-proud conglomerates Siemens and Thyssenkrupp are shrinking. Volkswagen’s service life shortens each time Tesla’s outlook improves.
一輛在高速公路上行駛的汽車(chē)，早在緊急停車(chē)之前，傳動(dòng)裝置就已經(jīng)失靈，密封圈也已燒壞。如今，德國(guó)注重保持“一致意見(jiàn)”(consensual)的商業(yè)模式出現(xiàn)了多重機(jī)械故障。支撐德國(guó)科技門(mén)面的支付集團(tuán)Wirecard因欺詐而“內(nèi)爆”。拜耳(Bayer)正在為一系列和解協(xié)議賠付高達(dá)110億美元，而相關(guān)指控主要是由一宗對(duì)美國(guó)公司的災(zāi)難性收購(gòu)引發(fā)的。德國(guó)人曾經(jīng)引以為傲的企業(yè)集團(tuán)——西門(mén)子(Siemens)、蒂森克虜伯(Thyssenkrupp)正在收縮。特斯拉(Tesla)前景越光明，大眾(Volkswagen)的“使用壽命”就越短。