Audi Says Screw The Establishment, We Will Define The New Luxury

Maybe they'll get the quality right and come inside top 10 in quality surveys..

Screw the quality surveys -- I drive a leased A6 Quattro and I swear that AUDI quality is top notch these days. So is the fit and finish and interior luxury. Kaiser is correct about reliability being different from quality and I want to add that Audi reliability is also top notch these days except for the occasional coil over plug failure which has been a problem for the VW Group as a whole. LEt me add a comment about durability -- you can drive an Audi hard all day without damaging it. Also, Audi seats and arm rests are solid and do not move when you lean on them which is not the case on cars like the Grand Marquis I used to drive.

yesss.

" a more casual attitude, a sense of Zen and spirit and those types of things,"

Oh God, lets hope we don't get another rocks and water campaign ala 1990 Infiniti.

LOL. I forgot about those ads!

at least Audi is teasing everyone like a stripper with huge boobies and promising to show you little bit more if we pay a bit more attention to them but Lexus delivers and what happened with Volvos and Saabs lately? They haven't done jack squat lately.

SheepDawg

I've never heard anyone say that. Everyone pretty much agrees that the previous generation of BMW interiors was much better in terms of quality and aesthetics.

I've owned BMW's for the last eight years across three different model lines. The new 3-Series interior is nicer, plusher, and more eye catching than the E46. I have/had both. Same with the new X5 verus the previous X5. I have a 2005 X5 4.4i now and in November am either replacing that with a new X5 diesel or an X6. The new X5/X6 interior isn't even close to the old one, the new interior is lightyears better in every regard. The only interior I like better in the previous car is the 1997-2003 5-Series over the 2004-2007 5-Series. But presto, BMW redesigned the 5-Series interior for 2008, and it's nicer again.

YES, just like HYUNDAI, new luxury with rebaged volkwagens

???

new luxury with rebadged Volkwagens.

What a dip!

of course Larry! When Audi surpasses Mercedes in annual global sales in another 5 years you will still continue to hate on them

Audi is treated as a seperate company. This was done to give it more credibility against BMW and MB.

*History lesson:

VW and Audi are under the same company whose name is
"Volkswagen Audi Gesellschaft" (VAG).

They have separate research departments, separate assembly plants, but do share parts, engines and cars (US VW Quantum == Audi) on occasion. In Europe it is not uncommon to have both dealers that sell and service both VWs and Audis (and sometimes also Porsches). In North America the two (three) are usually separate.

I believe that Audi still makes money on every RX8 sold, why? They still own the patent on the Wankel(rotary) engine.

I 2nd theoptimisticpessimist. Shades of 1990 Infiniti all over again. I think that marketing manager had better get his head on straight.

Audi should stay away from fads and stick to old-school sensibilities.

The thing about fad consumers is that while they may dominate market share for a particular time, they have absolutely no loyalty. They will be off to the next fad in due time. Companies/Products with a faithful core audience stick around for a long time as long as they remain true to their base.

Old world luxury is not a fad. It's been around for a long time and there will always be a contigent of hardcore followers to support it. This 'west coast zen' crap on the other hand is a fad. It will come and go. In the mean time, women and other stupid consumers will eat it up, just like Lexus and Justin Timberlake.

why would Audi target Acura and its lackluster sales? Audi already ranks above the Japanese cars in image, so why would they chase that?

Wow! Do you really believe the BS you rant about. Why would Audi "lower" itself to target Acura and Infiniti when it competes squarely against BMW and MB. Everyone knows this. You really have some strange obsession against Audi. Get some real help and try to concentrate on your life a bit.

Ditto what Pushrod says...Acura???

bimmer is so scared of audi. He spends most of his time on autospies restating this line " rebaged FWD VW"
"don't wrestle with a pig because you both get dirty and the pig will like it"

AmazinB, I think you will notice that Audi is coming out with some even more expensive models so they will be positioning themselve squarely at where at least BMW is. With the New R8, R8tdi, S5, A4, Q5, TT-S, these don't look cheap they will range from $35k to $150k. I don't see Acura and Infiniti in that price category yet. Infiniti can probably produce a 90k sports car if they base it on the Nissan GTR and then make it a hard-top convertible. I can see it now Infiniti GT55. Sorry we were talking about Audi right?

By the way amazin whatever, last time I checked the A8L keeps killing the 7-Series in every comparison and outsells it globally including Europe. I have yet to see the 7-Series anywhere close to the execution of the A8.

Audi abandoning 'old luxury?' That does scare me a bit. Are they saying they want to be 'new luxury' like Lexus?

They are not abandoning old luxury. For goodness sake they are European based company that traces its history to the start of the automobile and the second oldest surviving premium brand globally with tons of "Old World" history. This is combining the two.

LOL what an amazinIDIOT. You are such a moron it is unbelievable. Why would Audi go targeting Infiniti and Lexus when Audi outsells Infiniti by over 600,000 vehicles worldwide and Audi by a 2 to 1 margin.

Audi is going to surpass Mercedes within 5 years. Why can't you comprehend that Audi won't just compete with BMW and Mercedes, Audi will surpass Mercedes in annual worldwide sales before you know it.

Vorsprung dur Technik.......Audi is on a roll.

They should screw the establishment because with cars like the R8, Audi is setting new standards in performance, luxury, and design.

Did they hire Chris Bangle???

@AgentOrange: that made me laugh and cry.

I'm not sure what this idea is all about. Old Luxury vs New Luxury? Does that remind anyone else of the .com era, when everyone was arguing that the "old economy" was no longer relevant, and it was all about the "new economy".

Seems to me that the values of luxury haven't really changed much over time--the things which express those values have, of course, but not the values themselves. What this guy is talking about--Zen, and spirituality, and "those types of things"--isn't luxury, it's just a different set of values. No one does yoga because it's luxurious. No one eats organic tofu because it's luxurious. Yes, West coasters tend to do those things more than "traditionalists", but not because they consider those things luxurious.

So if I were Audi, I'd make sure I've thought this through...it's not easy or cheap to change a brand image, so make sure you're really sure you know what you're doing.

And BTW, the West Coast isn't a great proxy for the rest of the US, since most people consider Zen, spirituality, and "those types of things" to be kind of out there.

And besides, the USA is a highly competitive and relatively saturated luxury market; if they were REALLY smart, they would be targeting luxury values of emerging luxury markets such as China, Russia, the Middle-East, and Latin America.

The 21st century add 6 Years back to 2006. Their is no New school bandwagen. It's already here. Lexus definately isn't it. although the ls-f was a good direction...(no where near the previous dated R-8) Audi is all about leading in technology. This isnt the 90's, and with so many outragous real world occurances, now in the new millenium no idea is pre-modern or at least shouldn't be in terms of clear truth and vision. the future is now, and audi is responding accordingly.

Is this like Donald Rumsfield's Old Europe vs New Europe? lol...j/k. Old luxury is probably like staying at the Ritz Carlton while new luxury is like staying at the W hotel. Audi's fit and finish is second to none; they will only improve on what is a superior product.

They better stick to luxury because the a4/a6 have the weakest engines in their classes.

I really do like Audi. I just don't like 265hp V6s.

The new bi-turbo is on its way...

I hate that engine, too, but they're not dumb enough to keep it around for long.

And while you wait, enjoy the mighty RS6's 580+hp bi-turbo V10.

The V8 in the A6 4.2 and the S4 is sweet! No weakness there. A fully loaded A6 4.2 will hit near $70,000 and it is true luxury- simple as that.

Although Audis are sleek and modern, i am not really fond of them. Their design lacks visual drama and there is nothing special in them that really wins you out. To me the best German car brand is BMW, even though i really hate the BMW fanboys in this site. If given single preference only, i would say that i like british cars the most, because of their sculpted and very dramatic designing of their cars, think of the Aston martin DBS or even the new Jaguar XF, this cars have design ques that make them look like a piece of sculpture, not something as boring as a car. By the way Audi designs are still quite antiseptic.

It's not about what you think.

It's about what the world thinks.

Audi doesn't have a problem with product,yes the do need a larger product line,but their working on that.The biggest challenge they have is on their weak dealer body.Their's a few good dealers in the larger markets,but most are subpar.To compete with the sales leaders Lexus,BMW,Mercedes you must give it all to the customer.Service is what keeps people comming back for their second third and fourth car.

+1

Although I am one of the lucky few that have had a great service experience, which is probably one reason why I currently own my fourth Audi... and may have my fifth by next year. But it's also about the product. I'm a pretty loyal buyer; if I like the product I will come back. Most people aren't like that, though.

Audi is working on its dealer network especially in big metro regions. In my region, the majority of Audi dealerships have been built into new terminal style or in the process. On on the highest volume Audi dealers in my region is about to break ground on one those huge terminal style dealers as seen in London and Europe.

I read the story and never saw once, where it says "scew the establishment". What a crock of sh*t of a headline. Another spin by 009.

Taking cues/incorporating cues from "new" luxury is not screwing the establishment.

Are you trying to make an excuse for Audi's success amazinIdiot??

Volkswagen cut rate prices??

The RS4, RS5, RS6, TTRS, R8 and R8 V10 are all more expensive than their BMW M and Mercedes AMG counterparts.

Sure, you can try to attack this by saying Audi's RS are built and sold in limited numbers because if they were sold in full-production figures, nobody would buy them.

Hey don't blame me for AMG having watered down their brand to the point where you can get an AMG powered minivan R-class.

The cheap price is the reason for Audi's success.

They offer an incredible product that matches their counterparts in terms of build quality, design, and performance for lower prices.

Why do you think Mercedes' growth rate is in the shitter?

They are overpriced cars with terrible quality.

So you acknowledge that Audi is going to surpass Mercedes in global annual sales, amazinIdiot.

You are learning something....how surprising.

Yeah like your BMW 1-series is very expensive. What cheap prices that are affordable by lowly Acura and Honda buyers. LOL

That's the Germans cockey as ever.Don't sell the public what they want,sell them what audi wants.That's leads to failure.