Schiffe sind weiblich, Autos manchmal... mehr fällt mir gerade nicht ein, und generell: ja, alle Artikel sind 'it'. Der Burger auch.

In der Regel ja, je nach Kontext könnte es Alternativen geben, mir fällt aber gerade selbst keine solche Situation ein.

We always call a ship a "she" and not without a reason. For she displays a well-shaped ... That's why a ship must have a mate; she needs a good provider. ...
www.warsailors.com/freefleet/shippoem.html

a ship is a "she"

The basic distinction in English is between humans (and sometimes animals) and everything else. Always use he/she for a human being. (This causes problems when you don't if the person is male or female; modern popular usage has introduced "they/them/their".) If you know an animal's biological sex, use he/she as appropriate; otherwise you may use "it". (Note: highly domesticated animals often have an implied "gender" - unless specifically a tom, a cat is always "she"; unless specifically a bitch, a dog is always "he".)

There are a few exceptions:
-ships/boats are usually "she", especially among sailors and boaters
-personification will ascribe gender to an idea (Lady Liberty; the mother country; Mother Nature; Father Time; Uncle Sam)
-sometimes an individual will personify a prized object - I know someone whose cello is "Pablo" (in honor of Pablo Casals); someone else calls her car "Phillip" because "every time I go to the gas station I have to say 'fill up'." (Yes it's a play on words.)

Cars too at times. I once heard a guy telling the gas station attendant: 'Fill her up.'

Wow ok, damit ich das auch richtig verstanden habe:

Schiffe immer SIE

Personen immer ihrem Geschlecht entsprechend

Tiere nur SIE oder ER wenn das Geschlecht klar ist, ansonsten ES z.Bsp.: da rennt eine Maus ist die Maus ein IT weil niemand so schnell shen konnte, ob das nun Frau, oder Herr Maus war :-)

ausgenommen Katzen SIE - Hunde ER

Gegenstände (Autos, Geschirrspüler, Staubsauer) die einen Namen haben (aus mir unersichtlichen Gründen :-) auch SHE oder HE, sowie auch "Mutter Erde" "Uncle Sam" usw.

Alles richtig verstanden?

The mouse is definitely an it.

I don't understand either why some people name their cars, but it isn't just Americans. I once had a German neighbor whose car was "Bobby". Go figure.

I shouldn't have put "always" in my comment #4 - it's okay to call a dog or cat "it", especially if it isn't your own. You might find this thread interesting: Siehe auch: Katzen-Geburtstagsfeier

Personification is also a literary device, so don't be surprised to see it even in formal writing.

Countries are often "she" too. But you need to be a native-speaker to be sure when to use it. But "it" is of course always OK.

I should have said ...or have a good feel for the language. Sorry to all those non-natives that........

Ich dachte immer, Tiere sind allgemein "he", es sei denn, man weiß, dass es eine "she" ist.

Let's see . . .

We all agree that, if an animal's sex/gender is known, we use the appropriate he/she.

Beyond that . . .

The less-domesticated animals are more likely to be "it". The closer the contact with a human, the greater the likelihood of "he/she".

Animals that have common male/female forms might well be "he" unless the female form is used, e.g. a "lion" will be thought of as male because we have the commonly-used term "lioness".

Some animals are generically thought of as a specific "gender" unless otherwise noted. As I mentioned earlier, cats are "she" and dogs are "he". The big cats (lions/tigers) and other large predators are "he". Chickens are "she". Cows are also "she". (Because we have the word "bull" to indicated the male. Incidentally for larger herd animals we can add "bull" or "cow" to indicate gender: bull moose, bull elephant, cow elephant, etc. Also incidentally, certain professions are thought of as male or female: "professor" is male; "teacher" - especially at the elementary level - is female, even though we know that both men and women practice both professions. "Nurse" is female, and we even get "male nurse" to be clear.)

Since "he" used to cover generic instances, it could also be used with animals of unknown gender/sex. This usage is disappearing. It is always acceptable to use the generic "it" with an animal (but never with a human).

This is probably more information than anyone cared to know, and I'm sure someone will express a different experience with the language. :-)