re: How were German armored divisions so much more elite than their US counterparts

I haven't read through this thread but I hope it's been pointed out that the Germans relied heavily on tank destroyers and assault guns to supplement their lack of tank production. The Sturmgeshutz III was the most produced German armored fighting platform, with the IV also reaching very high production numbers. The Panzer IV was likewise the most produced of the German tank platforms and it's modifications kept it on pace with Allied tank platforms like the T-34's and Shermans.

Obviously the Germans did not have the material resources or personal manpower of a nation like the United States or Soviet Union, much less a combination of the two plus the entire British Empire. They needed platforms that could outperform their enemies and maximize their limited manpower. That their research and development was over a decade behind the other powers when it began and was built from scratch and in secret beginning in 1933 makes it all the more impressive.

If you really consider the shear logistics of what Germany was facing against it, it becomes all the more remarkable the incredible and persistent resistance that was put up for so long.