India, Sept. 4 -- Mercedes goes 'woke.' But Jens thinks that this points to a dystopian future.
In German, you pay your respect by addressing someone with the formal pronoun 'Sie.' The more colloquial and intimate 'Du' has traditionally been reserved for family members and friends. The switch from 'Sie' to 'Du' is a meaningful event - and here's why. A loose analogy would be switching from a last name to a first-name basis in a relationship. Contemporary corporate culture has been grinding away at these customary honorifics, but unless you work in an environment where 'Du' is enforced, many consider it to be clumsy and obtrusive to use it.
So, it came as a surprise to me that, of all the automotive brands, the one that stands for excellen...