My facts come from seeing pictures from a family member of the inside of a Pentastar 8 speed that failed, was covered under warranty and was told by Chrysler employees that it failed because its a different, inferior part to the V8 and diesel version.
I also buy a number of Ram vehicles for the company I work for and in researching if the new pentastar/8 speed was a viable option, I saw nothing but issue after issue with the combo in brand new vehicles compared to the 0 issues we have had with the hemi/german 8 speed combo.
In regards to your opinion that Germans see the US as a low cost option, my opinion is that US see Mexico as a low cost option. Your work may lead to you have other information / beliefs in regards to this 8 speed subject, but this is my understanding, research, knowledge and beliefs. Maybe "trash" was too harsh of an description in my original post, but "utter rubbish leading to problems versus buying the hemi for $495 more" would be just as accurate to describe my position. I do however hope that these issues with the licensed version of the 8 speed can be dialed out before use in the JL because all in all the ZF 8 is a great transmission.