Last weekend I wrote an article calling Audi's latest commercials as misleading and wrong. To say I got slammed on here would be an understatement. Several of our readers went on and on and on trying to discredit the story and the author as well, but the fact still remains that the commercial in question is at best misleading.
The claim of course was that the new Audi A4 is the fastest car in the segment. This segment was one defined by a automatic 4-Cylinder A4 2.0T Quattro against a Lexus IS250, BMW 328iX and the Mercedes-Benz C300 4-Matic.
My argument centered on the fact that the Audi A4 in all variations is a member of the "entry level" either "sports" or "near luxury" sedan segment with prices ranging from the low $30k's to high $40k's. Cars within this class include the aforementioned Audi A4 2.0T along with the A4 3.2, the BMW 328i and 335i, the Mercedes-Benz C300 and C350, the Lexus IS250 / IS350 as well as the Infiniti G37 sedan and coupe. It could be argued that the Cadillac CTS is a member of the class to which I won't dispute, and perhaps even offerings from Volvo and Saab that fit the size and price point.
But would that be appropriate?
While the Saab, Volvo and Cadillac are decent cars, they aren't normally cross shopped with the offerings from BMW, Audi, Mercedes and Infiniti. And yet price wise on paper they are part of the class.
Which raises the point I was trying to make last week with the article about the Audi. As much as the Audi fans on this site want to try to distance themselves from BMW, the fact is Audi has engineered cars meant to compete with BMW. Dynamically the Audi strives to be in the same class as the 3-Series. You can argue all you want that it is not true, but the fact remains that if Audi views its own offerings as a competitor to BMW (and Lexus, MB and Infiniti) should it not be held to a standard consistent with cars that define the class.
Reader S4CABRIOFOXONE was very passionate in his defense of the A4, a passion I respect but disagree with from the standpoint that to make a claim as bold as the one Audi made in their commercial advertising, you better be ready to defend it across the range, not just in one micro setting against a very small selling segment for the rest of the field.
The better comparison would be to compare the highest selling BMW, MB, and Lexus against the highest selling A4 to determine an outcome. I don't know the ratios for BMW, but I suspect they sell more 328i's than they do 335i's, and I suspect Mercedes sells more C300's than the other models in that range, so include those as the competitors and then see who comes out on top.
A lot of readers latched on to the fine print, but in a real world situation fine print doesn't carry street credibility. Example: You line-up your A4 2.0T Quattro one night against a BMW 328i. Stop light to stop light the BMW wins. Would you then explain to the BMW driver that had their car been the 328iX with the automatic transmission that your own A4 2.0T would have won the race based on this comparison. Of course you could show the BMW driver the fine print, but do you think it would really matter?
Of course not, you'd get laughed right back into your car. Fine print doesn't sell, real world performance sells, and with that being the case I think Audi should line up their A4 2.0T or 3.2 (their choice) against the class leaders from BMW, Mercedes and Lexus. If their car wins, great. They get the privilege of bragging rights. Of course if the Audi loses, they can always defer back to the fine print.
Understand something here, this (and last weekends story) has nothing to do with slamming with Audi. Audi builds a great car with a fantastic interior (although having lived with the MMI interface for over 2 years now, I can tell you I prefer the iDrive over the MMI) that competes with the best the world has to offer, but they need to be held accountable when they make claims that in the big picture cannot be substantiated.
We don't live in a Micro world, we live in the Macro. The A4 both 2.0 and 3.2 compete with a broader range of vehicles than just the few listed in their advertisement. I just think it is important to reveal the truth.
Go ahead, tell me I am wrong. What I do know is that if it was BMW making the claim about such a small micro segment of the much larger segment, or Lexus or Mercedes you'd be all over it. Perhaps it is because as even Agent 009 says, "Audi is the underdog" that we all come to the defense.
Underdog or not, we don't live our life in fine print. We shouldn't be defending a claim that requires fine print just to substantiate.
What do you think?