In the late 19th and early 20th century, the auto industry was born; that's about where the simplicity ends.  The Germans started it all with Daimler-Benz in the 1880s, working to build a reputation for all German vehicles as chariots of luxury and automotive icons of prestige and wealth.  Then the American automotive industry brought the first big boom.  Assembly lines advanced production to staggering rates and mass production made the automobile affordable for everyone.  In a sense, there was a good and a bad side to the mass production coin; some automakers began building cars hastily or with cheaper parts in order to pay for the labor, thus producing a shoddy product.  Between 1905 and 1980, the assembly line made America the world's leading automobile producer, until Japan began to blossom and showed that it wasn't just an American labor mentality.  Competition has gotten quite stiff between the three, but only two schools of thought have emerged profitably in the auto industry.
    The Japanese boast efficiency through safety, reliability, and cost-sensitive materials.  They've introduced hybrid technology on a large scale production-level, use parts that are more affordable for the average consumer, and fill their cars with so many airbags that the car could probably float upon impact.  Japan began producing more reliable engineering and better innovations at a fast enough pace to overtake America by 1980.  Their cars were more efficient and cost less to purchase and maintain, but they also produced luxury lines for customers who enjoyed a bit of the Midas touch with their efficiency.  There were sacrifices to be made for the required efficiency that each car needed to get its final seal of approval.  Weight in Japanese cars was raised as a result of the safety precautions that were so necessary, even the smallest cars tipped the scales before making it out of assembly.  A direct result of this was the way that the performance was affected.  The heavier weighted cars were carried by smaller engines that produced a better gas mileage, but little power as a result of a gentleman's agreement between Japanese automakers to not build engines that produce more then 276 horsepower.  This agreement was tossed out in 2004, and the Japanese car manufacturers have since been building cars that are creating heavier competition for the German auto industry.
      The Germans on the other hand bring prestige, safety through precision engineering and the proverbial ultimate driving experience.  To own and maintain a German vehicle alone sets you on a different class level then your average driver.  The German school of thought is all about precision, you can see it in their soccer teams and you can see it in their automobiles.  The Germans produce the most comfortably precise cars that are in tune with each and every sense of the driver, at a price, of course.  BMW's M-Class, Audi's S-Line and Mercedes AMG Series are prime examples of these driving experiences; they are not to be quite luxury cars, nor are they quite like street legal race cars, but don't ever make the mistake of underestimating a car like this.  Each passing year brings bigger engines and more horsepower, wider track and better handling, and less weight.  Each new advance is carefully examined, analyzed, accounted for and adjusted immediately.  The Germans have the opposite mentality of the Japanese when it comes to weight and horsepower, especially BMW.  Each extra pound added to the car is accompanied with the necessary extra horsepower so as not to lose an iota of driving satisfaction.  These are the cars that the Germans pride, like a national monument, obelisks of power.   
    Innovation is what sets these car countries apart; Germans innovate new ideas in the fields of comfort and performance, the Japanese engineer innovations to increase efficiency and safety.  Unfortunately, these things are at opposite ends of the automotive spectrum, but the good thing is that there are no secrets in the auto industry anymore.  To be efficient, an automobile must sacrifice in fields like performance, suspension, and weight.  To be comfortable, you've got to add bucket heated seats, better acceleration for merging, and options.  Luckily for the average consumer, the car companies began to realize that no one wants either or the other, they want both.  It's hard to say what caused this sharing; designers and engineers from different countries mingling at auto shows, consumer demand, covert spying; but it is easy to point out which innovation came from whom.  Each country's innovation interprets the car ideology of its population; Japan is continually producing smaller and smaller cars to alleviate the growing traffic demands of a huge population on a tiny island, and the Germans are building the next experience and always striving for the most unequivocal mode of transportation from Point A to Point B.  For the rest of us, now we have to choose between the fully-loaded hybrid Toyota Prius with the rearview camera or the fully-loaded Audi A3 TDi with the better sound system and response time.