Why BMW And Mercedes Fear Audi On A Global Scale

I was a big fan of the Audi until, I came to this web-site but w/o bias..I think Audi has made a great progress and job well done for Audi. I still think older 90's version of Audi had a better looking front facia and more conservative looks fits cars of these categories much better..but, I'm not really sure what to say about the new Audi design with curvatures and whatnot. Job well done..

As an Audi fan I regretfully concur with what the BMW guy said. They seem to be overly cautious and try to hide it by saying that they want what they do to be perfect before it is released. So, hence, they have impeccably built cars...just with technology that they probably could've come out with a year or two earlier.

Then again, can you really say that they copied the R8 from anybody? (I don't consider using part of the Gallardo as copying from a different company.)

Comes down to business. Audis are nice cars, no question.

BMW is selling far more cars than Audi, and they're making almost twice as much money per car in profit as Audi.

Audis also cost more than BMWs for similarly aligned cars. In simple terms, this means that BMW has a more efficient business model/process than Audi.

Unless Audi expands its model lineup to appear to a broader base (eg, offer rear-drive cars), and get the operating expenses down so they can lower their prices to compete more agressively with BMW, while simultaneously expanding to a broader base of consumers, they will not be able to get into the #2 or #1 spots that BMW and Mercedes have.

As much as the BMW fans would like it, Audi will NOT be producing RWD cars in the near future. It's just not them! Do you know how costly a project it would be to switch their entire lineup to RWD? Redesigning all the factories, rearranging the powertrain designs, alienating 1/3 of their fanbase? That would be following, and you know their slogan.

And, what are you talking about here?

"Audis also cost more than BMWs for similarly aligned cars."

The only Audi I can think of that costs more than a BMW competitor is the RS4 vs. M3. Not only that, but every Audi product has more standard content than its BMW competitor, no question. Let me give you a pricing comparison:

A4, base: $28,240
3 Series, base: $32,400

A6: $41,950
5 Series (2007 525i): $43,500

A8: $68,900
7 Series: $75,800

TT Coupe*: $34,800
Z4 3.0si Coupe: $40,400

Q7: $39,900
X5: $45,900

Those are all the main model lines.

*The Z4 is only offered in 3.0si in coupe form, but the TT's base model is the 2.0T, which is the price shown. The TT 3.2 quattro, which I felt would be an unfair comparison in light of the Z4's manual/RWD setup (compared to the more expensive AWD/DSG), is about $1,000 more than the Z4.

Are you referring to Lexus or Audi?

And, although I know you're satisfied to think that BMW/Merc/Audi are "diluting" their image with small cars, that's a delusional fantasy. None of their cachet has eroded, at all. In any country, all three are high-profile brands with superior products and service.

I had an recent conversation with one of the Audi product planners and we were discussing this very topic. The new A5 platform is being released first in the US as the S5 with the lower performance A5 to follow a few months later. This represents a change of direction in product developement and aligns closely with the Porsche theory. For those who want the latest and greatest in a new product, launching the most advanced version (highest performance) first and capturing those hungry customers immediately is a relatively new concept for Audi. They feel that selling the expensive version first and then following up later with the more pedestrian versions is a smart business plan. I tend to agree. Of course, the RS version is still years away but represents such a small slice of the pie as to be insignificant. They only want to have one RS vehicle in the market place at any one time. It will cycle through the lineup and be a 6 for a while, then a 4, and then who knows? Maybe the TT. It will be interesting to watch and see if it works.

huu76, what are you talking about, I'll do donuts around an Avalon in a 330i. Please don't compare a 330i to a freaking Toyota Avalon. I mean you seem like a bright person but you just make yourself look retarded when you say things like that. Have you ever been in a loaded corolla? It's still a corolla, I don't care how "Loaded" it is, it's not going to do dittly to a 1-series. People who buy corolla's can't afford BMW's or Merc's, let be real here, if you can buy a 330i fully optioned out I highly doubt you're going to go to the Toyota dealer and get a Avalon instead...silly boy.

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S4: I think you might be right, Audi will never offer a RWD car.

But I think you're wrong that this is expensive. I think it's far more expensive to offer a 4-wheel drive mechanism than a two wheel drive. But most of those costs are in materiels, not engineering. If you start off with a platform that can go both RWD and FWD, then you get economies of scale.

The real reason Audi does not do RWD is that it would embarass their Quattro platforms how well their RWD counterparts perform, and undermine the AWD platform.

I don't say this to pick on Audi. I say this to their credit for engineering some great powerplants that would give BMW and Mercedes even MORE run for their money, and beating them on their own RWD platforms. This would translate to more sales.