1. Historical roots that go deep
1. 深厚的歷史積淀
The automobile was invented when Karl Benz developed one of the first internal combustion engines in the 1870s and fitted a coach to it in 1887. The other German companies are younger -- BMW didn't start making cars until 1928 -- but all of them have invested billions of euros in marketing their heritage. Just look at the lavish museums that have been erected in Stuttgart, Munich, and Ingolstadt. The Germans revere their cars, and customers respect that.
德國人卡爾•本茨（奔馳公司的創始人之一——譯注）在19世紀70年代發明了世界上第一臺內燃發動機，然后又在1987年給它安了個車身，世界第一臺汽車就這樣誕生了。和奔馳相比，其他德國汽車廠商要年輕得多。比如寶馬公司1928年才開始生產汽車。不過所有德國汽車廠商都投資了數十億歐元推廣他們的汽車文化遺產。在斯圖加特、慕尼黑和因戈爾斯塔特等地都建有大量的汽車博物館。德國廠商敬畏自己的汽車，而消費者也尊重德國汽車。