UKC

Mercedes included a quote attributed to the Dalai Lama in an advert, along the lines of if one looks at situations from every angle, one becomes more open. 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mercedes-benz-china-gaffe/mercedes-benz-...

Following comments from Chinese people on social media, and within the context of Mercedes wanting to make lots of money in China, not wanting to get embroiled in anything which might involve morals, they're issued a groveling apology rather than tactfully point out that the Dalai Lama is a harmless guy as far as the rest of the world is concerned, what with preaching a  message of love and compassion.

They're less reliable than they used to be anyway until the mid 90's anyway, so one only buys them for the badge.   

Not sure even the badge is that reliable. 

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7YmTBT1UxNI/Tg5VfuVhplI/AAAAAAAAKbg/ibhkd7p3Dcw/s...

Lol

Who wants a Merc anyway? Doesn't everyone on here lust after a Transporter? Despite VW's history including endorsement by Hitler, slave labour, secret slush funds, prostitutes on expenses and of course poisoning millions via faked emission stats.

....just saying.

Not sure who the story is criticising - Mercedes or the Chinese State?

Janis Joplin?

There's looking like being concrete health benefits to meditation and similar, and the ways in which China squarks in intimidation whenever anybody even looks like meeting the Dalai Lama annoys me. 

It goes against my sense of fairness.  

Janis is as dead as the credibility of anyone claiming ethical shopper status while rocking up to the crag in an Octavia or a Transporter (there are a lot out there).

My car was also produced by the VW group.

For a different take on the Tibet question...

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/feb/10/tibet-china-feudalism

To my amusement, at the Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart they only acknowledge the existence of two other car manufacturers in the world, ever.

One being some French brand that Mercedes used to beat in races in the early 1900s-1910s. The other being Volkswagen, in a placard basically saying that Mercedes was forced into producing SOME vehicles for the Nazis, but at least they weren't as bad as Volkswagen who embraced the contract wholeheartedly

It's a really good museum actually - I am no petrol-head and I didn't stop and look at all the aero engines on display, I was really just doing a quick top-down walkthrough and it still took me 3 hours, not even time to get a bite to eat.

Not sure that this story is criticising anyone. It's reporting some events.

Have you tried the Deutsche museum in Munich? I had a similar experience there, the entire basement was shut for refurbishment, I missed out the top floor and two rooms and still came out 5 hours later!

Even that is down-playing VW's history to the point of being weasel words isn't it? 
In their original form as the "Strength Through Joy" movement given wheels VW didn't embrace the Nazis, they were the Nazis.

Most probably it is, and it might be me misremembering rather than Mercedes downplaying anything they can use to slate the competition! 

Just goes to show; your company is only as evil as your marketing says it is.