Q: is it just that the germans have a natural ability.... or is it something that can be learned and taught?
A: Much of that is reputation, not fact. Don't get me wrong, if you buy something like a BMW, a Benz or VW, you're not getting garbage, but they are not as well engineered as they once were (especially compared to the greatly improved American cars and some Japanese cars). This knack for quality is built into their culture and society. Germans are raised to be very exacting, clever, detail oriented and anal-retentive. These qualities translate into good engineering. However, in recent years, this has started to go lax as Germans depart from some of their pre-WW2 values and characteristics (thanks to the Hoff).