Audi Celebrates This Weekend, 100 Years In The Bag

thats certainly not true while Im not a Lexus guy in the slightest, the original LS put the German car makers on notice, and forced them to produce better cars. Audi didnt even truely start fighting Mercedes and BMW until the A4 was released which just techinically Lexus got started much earlier in 1989, for years Audi has made the occasional memorable car (the quattro coupe among these, hugelf fast and great performer) but otherwise their image has always been the equivalent of a German volvo or saab never really competing directly with BMW and Mercedes as these 2 have been focused on each other for years. Audi has made a huge turn around, but that doesnt make them any better than Lexus.

And Mitchell, why do you insist on bringing up Lexus?

Audi has certainly had its management problems, however, I think they're not only on the right track now, but seem to be doing better than Lexus in terms of product development and marketing. For example, the R8 was a masterstroke; an iconic sports car, closely-tied to a very successful racing program, that will have an immeasurable halo effect on the Audi brand much as the ur-Quattro did. Lexus is now trying mimic it with the LF-A, but without a visible link to racing success and without a design connection to its other cars. I'm afraid it will just be a fast but ephemeral car like the NSX. It will be good, but it won't be relevant.

I'm not sure how well Lexus has done for Toyota during this global recession (Toyota, itself, not having done well), but Audi has done well for Volkswagen and seems poised to come out of it with more momentum than any luxury automaker. Their sales and profit (profit being the key) seem to support this view and it has been achieved without being competitively priced.

Additionally, by at least one measure that Japanese-car lovers seem to respect and cite often (Consumer Reports) Audi has made some quality improvements. If Audi closes the gap in terms of reliability, Lexus will see how they've backed themselves into a corner pursuing a low-price, market-share driven strategy that is very dependent upon the Japanese reputation for reliability and it's checklist-approach to product development. (Pay attention to the incipient Q5 vs. RX 350 battle.)

Happy 100 years, Audi.

Of course Audi is better lexus - that's obvious to any automotively astute person. In motor sports alone, Audi destroys lexus. Lexus is only relevant in the US and nowhere else. That doesn't make for a global premium brand yet alone one that is 100 years old. Horch from the 1930s alone could teach lexus a thing or two on how to make super luxury 8 and 12 cylinder vehicles. Anway, Congrats Audi on your 100th! Continued success in the future.

Happy 100th birthday Audi!

Lexus had their work cut out for them, since most of the technology was already available from the Germans, and they just had to build on that.

All flamewars aside we must congrat Audi. You can hate them or love them but one thing is for sure, we can respect them.

Just drove an R8 5.2 V10- what an amazing vehicle! Congrats to Audi on 100 years, and here is to exploding in the United States! Keep it up!

Me too. I'm thinking about trading my V8 for this V10 but I do have to fork out the extra dollars plus premium. You can never hate the sound of a V10, definitely a momentous occasion.

First comment ... are you REALLY comparing Audi to Lexus? Lexus was born out of overpriced Toyotas with extra features. Toyota has been around a lot longer than Lexus, CLEARLY. Thus crediting Lexus for a more impressive beginning is rather IGNORANT of the facts.

I do not see Lexus vehicles being crowned as leaders in motorsports, consistently in design, consistently as top performers in comparos, consistently in Car of the Year/Engine of the Year. So I would stop mentioning Lexus next to Audi.

Furthermore, Lexus sales have been TANKING for the last two years while Audi's market share keeps growing amid all the industry troubles.

I've test driven Lexus, BMW, MB and Audis on the track and would never consider buying the made-for-oldies Lexus cars. They are way too soft, they handle like boats and pretend to be like the Germans. No one likes pretenders. There are three new Audis in my family now, all 2009's... an A4 3.2 Quattro, A5 and Q5. They are all awesome cars.

Audi is doing great with their new products and I congratulate them for their efforts and for their 100 YEARS of GREATNESS!!!!