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GM Prius, Buick woes, car personality and the Task Force on Auto Advertising all get what’s coming to them on the continually-improving TTAC daily podcast. Meanwhile, we’ve got to give away a copy of the Taschenwörterbuch der Kraftfahrzeugtechnik (German-English technical dictionary), so give us your favorite German automotive phrase in the comments section. We’ll pick our favorite, and the lucky winner will be able to impress their local Porsche club with their new-found understanding of compound, car-related words.
30 Comments on “Daily Podcast: It’s All German To Me...”
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Wartungs-Intervall-Verlängerungs-Öl
Heckscheiben-Wisch-Wasch-Anlage
The only even remotely car related German phrase I know is “kraft durch freude”. Outside of that, I got nothing.
I’ve always loved the German word applied to fuel injection systems: “Einspritz” (Einspritzung, Einspritzen, etc.) because it sounds so UNmasculine, especially when heard spoken in context of all the other Kraftfahrzeugtechnik stuff. Maybe it is a regional accent oddity of the Germans I know, but when said out loud it always sounds goofy to me.
I spent some seat-time as a co-driver in two vintage rallies piloting a 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300sl Roadster (what an amazing car!) and I seem to recall a big yellow label on the mechanical fuel injection system warning of some grave consequence should you go Mezzen vit de Einspritzen. I should dig out my photos and see the exact language used.
When I lived in the UK my employer had an office in Munich that I had to visit about once a month or so. I had never had to deal with the German language at all prior to that but was amazed at how fast I picked it up. Unfortunately it has been 10 years since I left and I have forgotten EVERYTHING I learned, except how to say the address of our office on Schleissheimer Strasse (across from the BMW development center)… I got so good at saying that address that Taxi Drivers thought I could actually speak fluent German. They always had a good laugh when I replied (in English) to their next question with “Sorry, that’s all the German I know!”
I’d love to go back to Bavaria again. If I win the Taschenwörterbuch der Kraftfahrzeugtechnik I’ll be ready to go!
–chuck
Nicht nein ohne pomme frite!
Mein auto ist kaput. Wo ist de technik?
Elektronische Wegfahrsperre
Chuck Goolsbee: Einspritz indeed is unmasculine. Zweispritz would be more macho. Dreispritz, or even Vierspritz would be unbelievable ….
Talking about “Einspritz”, I always liked the melodic sound of “Pumpe-Düse Einspritzung”…too bad VW has abandoned that for the mundane sounding “Common Rail”…
Let’s see – I have a few candidates:
1. Überholprestige
2. Schräglenkeraufhängung
3. Lenkraddurchmesser
A quick explanation for those not fluent in the Teutonic lingo:
1. Your car’s ability to intimidate the driver in front of you sufficiently to make him move over.
2. The rear suspension used by BMW from the early sixites in their first “fiver” (the model was designated 1500, later 1800 and 2000), and by M-B from 1968 when they introduced their new “mid-size” model.
3. This is simply the diameter of the steering wheel.
What makes these terms kind of impressive is the German way of adding (or maybe we should say “concatenating”) several words together into one word, as opposed to the English way of leaving the words separate.
Tom: Pumpe-Düse is the opposite of common rail. With Pumpe-Düse, each in injector (Düse) has its own dedicated pump (Pumpe)
With common rail (as the name says) only one Pumpe, creating the Druck (Pressure) for the Einspritzdüsen (injectors)
But you are right, VW moves from Pumpe-Düse to common rail, because common rail is cheaper.
Vorsprung Durch Technik –
According to an Audi website, it’s
“Audi’s tagline in Germany. Literally translated, it means ‘advancement through technology’ …”
Yeah, we called it “Eisprung durch Technik” – ovulation through technology.
And the “oberliegende Nockenwelle” (overhead camshaft) quickly turned into “obenliegende Lockenwickler” (haircurlers on top)
and the sign to the biggest city in Germany…”Ausfahrt!” Every off ramp points to Ausfahrt! hehehe…I said Fahrt…hehehe (in my best Beavis and Butthead impersonation).
I jest, but only because I love Germany, having grown up i.d. Pfalz!
Doppellenker-Querachse
1. Kraftstoffverdunstungsanlage (fuel evaporation system). I always loved the word “Kraftstoff”, literally, “power material”, or “fuel” in English. I know we should translate ideas, not words, but being literal is funnier.
2. Nebelschlussleuchte (fog tail lamp). Say that three times fast. If you ever see a German car with the left tail light noticeably brighter than the right, that is the Nebelschlussleuchte in the “on” position.
Love those compound words!
And why did I just know there was going to be a fahrt joke?
Panzerkampfwagen V Auf G
best tank in the world until 1950’s
FIAT: Fehler In Alle Teile
I learned this joke when taking German classes many years ago…I hope it was just a joke and FIAT reputation improved…at least we would have some return in our tax money and some hope for Chrysler (if there is still any….)
By the way, this dictionary would really help my German classes…lol…
I like Hubschrauber and Raupenschlepper but they are somewhat removed from the automotive field, unfortunately.
Schwingungskomfort : vibration comfort
Schwing? Is this where Mike Myers got it?
My personal favorites are:
“Eingebaute Vorfahrt”
This is the built-in right-of-way (which their drivers believe is actually standard equipment on a Mercedes).
“Kurbelgehaeuseinnenbeleuchtung”
This is the crankcase domelight illuminating the crankshaft.
and
“Kolbenrueckholfeder”
This is the spring that returns the piston to its original position after internal combustion.
Remember to ask your car dealer if the car has a “Felgeninnenbeleuchtung”. If he says yes, then you should demand that he shows it to you.
I stand fast by Wartungsintervallverlängerung.
It means “interval between scheduled maintenance extension.” Created by Volkswagen. Abbreviated as “WIV”. Generated a whole family of words and products. For instance the Wartungsintervallverlängerungs-Öl (special and pricey oil that eats up the cost saved by fewer scheduled inspections), or the Wartungsintervallverlängerungs-Anzeige, the light that tells you that you should haul ass to your friendly Volkswagen dealer, because it has been determined by the on-board-computer that your oil is justabout shot. Not to mention the Wartungsintervallverlängerungs-Umsatzverluste, the losses in sales by aforementioned VW dealers caused by the Wartungsintervallverlängerungs-Konfusion of their customers who were used to annual inspections. Or the Wartungsintervallverlängerungs-Broschüre, the booklet yours truly had to author to explain the unexplainable. 10 years or so after its introduction, the kustomers are still konfused.
@Bertel:
There are some bonmots from VW like the “Gebrauchtwagenanschlussgarantie”.
Da staunt der Fachmann und der Laie wundert sich.
Who can forget “fahrvergnügen,” Volkswagen’s famous word for “driving enjoyment?”
Bertel, were you at VW at that time?
This campaign spawned countless numbers of bumper stickers and T-shirts, in various obscene variations.
I’ve always been a fan of Auspuff. It just sounds funny to me.
I like speed limit, Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzung
Wechsellichtzeichenverkehrsanlage
verdichterrad: turbocharger compressor wheel. Think about it next time you’re driving your Audi A6.
Threeer wins this one hands down!
@Matt
So my 17 years growing up in Germany have finally paid off (I mean, other than my love of all things German food and a good Bischoffs every now and then when I can get my hands on one??)…ausgezeichnet!
Anything related to the East German *car* (I use this term loosely) Trabant, has to be on this list.
Here’s the link to an authentic GDR Trabant 601 commercial:
“Four trumps with the Trabant 601. (The four Jacks of the French deck of 32 cards represent the four highest trump in the German card game Skat)
1.) Comfortable for four adults!
2.) Plenty of space for their luggage!
3.) Agile! Fast!
4.) It’s got stamina and is robust!
Your dependable companion, the new Trabant 601.”
The box-like Trabant car was a potent symbol of East German values. Hallmarks of the Trabant were: a fibreglass body and a two-cylinder, two-stroke engine. It provided cheap, basic family transport, powered by a small engine. The P50 was initiated in 1957, building on the AWZ P70 idea, and was the first car to carry the Trabant name.
The meaning of the word ‘Trabant’ included notions of ‘servant’ or ‘comrade’, ideas which were literally realized in the archetypal P601 launched in 1964. The latter was the model that became famous, remaining in production for almost 30 years with comparatively few modifications. Its fibreglass bodywork had a simple box-like appearance, a visual metaphor for the basic technology that underpinned it. More powerful than its P50 predecessor it was available in saloon and cabriolet versions as well as a Kombi station wagon. A jeep-like model, the ‘Kuebelwagen’, was developed for the army and another version, the Tramp, for civilian use.
As was the case in other industrial contexts in the Eastern bloc, designers at the AWZ factory had many ideas for other models that were never realized for economic reasons. These included a prototype for an updated ‘people’s car’, the Trabant 603 with a Wankel engine; further unrealized attempts to update the Trabant took place in 1979 and 1982 with the P610 powered by an 1100 cc engine. However, following the fall of the Berlin Wall the place of the previously ubiquitous, yet basic Trabant, a powerful icon of the former East Germany, was challenged by the widespread availability and attraction of cheap, but style-conscious and symbolically ‘democratic’, second-hand Western alternatives such as the Volkswagen Golf. The competitive nature of the market place rang the death knell for the Trabant, leading to the closure of the Zwickau factory for car production.