Can no one else remember the days of proper Audi's? Excellent, well built cars with some different to offer and they made you feel a bit special.
Wind back the years to the original Audi Quattro, Audi 200 Turbo, Audi 80 Sport and more recently the Audi S2 and the original S4. All brilliant cars, something special. Lasted forever, in a couple of those a wonderful 5 cylinder warble, different looks.
Now look at the situation. A bunch of boring old Volkswagens in fancy dress. Audi A3 1.6i or 1.9 Diesel, any one? A silly woman's car in the Audi TT with silver spray plastic ahoy on the inside. The rest of the range is now typically Volkswagen in that it's technically excellent, they are all extremely heavy, very fast in the S/RS models but at the total detriment of any kind of fun, or character and totally lacking in that different edge that used to be so profound in the Audi's of old.
Yet again, another example of Volkswagen killing our Motor Industry. Go and drive the original Audi Quattro, or an Audi 80 Sport (consider how old it is) then step inside an A3 and weep.
Audi have made some great cars that stood out from the crowd, now the produce cars that stand out from teh crowd for al the wrong reasons.
As I've mentioned before, the whole anti-brand culture will be among us and there will be nothing left of Audi. That is all Audi is, a brand. It doesn't matter about the cars they produce. They are a self-perpetuating monster that will burn itself out in the next few years I believe. I defy anyone to have any emotional connection with their current products.
Not a fan of Audi's, have said as much numerous times on here before so will spare you all a repetition of the whys and wherefores.....or so I thought....
A black, RS4 burbled up past me on High Holborn yesterday .... and I have to say it's one of the best-looking, finest sounding saloon cars out there. Somehow, even its chrome-a-beard looks good and I'd be prepared to bet it would spank the living daylights out of the old Quattro coupe, S2 etc. Having never driven one I cannot of course be certain but it looks as if it's goes like stink; and cars that look as if they go like stink usually do.
....feel ashamed to say this but I'm also gaining a fondness for the A3 Sportback. I know, I know it's just a Golf with a fat arse .........
_________________________ "Forward", he cried, from the rear, and the front rank died. And the General sat, and the lines on the map moved from side to side.
As I've mentioned before, the whole anti-brand culture will be among us
...No, it won't. If it did, we'd all be shopping in ASDA and buying our clothes from some tw*t with a nose ring in Camden market. I would die before doing either of those things as would, I suspect, most of the rest of the civilised universe.
Brands are here to say buddy and for as long as that means I don't have to don my hand-crochet'd, hairy jumper to go meet my feminist, bi-curious mate with ginger dreadlocks and what looks like a saucer in her earlobe for a serious discussion on the environmental sustainability of the paint used to mark out bicycle lanes over a bowl of organic lentil and celery soup ........ I'm more than happy.
_________________________ "Forward", he cried, from the rear, and the front rank died. And the General sat, and the lines on the map moved from side to side.
Just to add some balance,back in the day, there were plenty of lame Audis as well.
I'll get shot for this but the original ur quattro wasn't that great. It succeeded in rallying whilst it was the only 4wd turbo car and as soon as Lancia, Pug et al came along, it was no longer competitive. And its the same story for the road car....it was never a big seller in its segment, was too heavy and slow. The 20 valver helped but things had moved on by that time.
I am always a bit sceptical of very high performance cars like the S2, RS4 etc in that they are not truly representative of the range anyway. They are build as apirational cars, not to be sold at a big profit, but to encourage buyers into the rest of the model range. They are a marketing tool and not a lot more.
You are right about them lasting a bit longer in those days though....
slightly over dramatic noxy, I agree that a3's & tt's are not really proper audi's of which I [fortunately?] see very few. its almost all U-drive a4 & a6 round here with a3's being just as common a sight as a8's. must be a southern thing with all those transverse thingys
-------------------------------------------- Two junior particle physicists were dismissed today after using the Large Hadron Collider to smash conkers into each other at near-light speed.
perhaps the new R8 is being built to recover the brand image you think is being diluted??
-------------------------------------------- Two junior particle physicists were dismissed today after using the Large Hadron Collider to smash conkers into each other at near-light speed.
I test drove an A3 Sportback and thought it a complete pup. Oh nice cabin and build, but rubbish engine with elastic-band torque delivery and boring fwd handling. As far as Im concerned, FWD and 'premium' are mutually exclusive. Bought a 120D Sport instead - bloody fantastic.
The downfall of Audi will only happen when the general public (as well as the likes of us who like to think we know about cars) wake up and smell the coffee and realise that a car is so much more than the badge on the bonnet. There are some great cars out there overlooked because of their badge and there are also some very average cars overpriced because of their badge.
What exacerbates the problem and keeps demand high for these vehicles is the second hand car buyers who dont know a lot and "percieve" all Audi and other premium brands of vehicles to be good. This keeps their residual prices up whilst those of better cars without a premium badge plummet. Therefore new car buyers (unless they are loaded) go for the so called "premiums" to protect their long term cash investment.
However, not all premiums are equal. I dont think personally that Audi is up there with MB and BMW and even Lexus is RWD.
Audi make some of the nicest looking cars on the road today.Interiors are well built and a lot nicer than your typical BMW.I totally agree with Boig,the RS4 is one good looking car.
Audis were at one stage desirable and world-leaders at things like 4wheel drive, aerodynamics and those characterful and powerful (in their day) 5 cylinder engines. They looked modern too.
Now theyre hideous, clattery diesel powered plastic rubbish.
Ive driven recently an A3, and would rather have a Golf, the A3 was a shapeless, feeble blob with an egg box for a dashboard. Horrid.
The A8s ive been in have been quite nice to drive but the styling is offensive and the interior is a mish-mash of downmarket switchgear and plastics, and a gimmicky flip-up navigation screen. The depreciation is scary and they date very quickly. The front end looks like its grown a goatee beard too.
Gone are the days of svelte, elegant Audis which were owned by quiet but confident professionals.
Today theyre owned by either downmarket sales reps (A3 and A4) or neaveau riche loud mouths with gold chains & greasy hair (A8). Theyre not that reliable either, ive heard some nasty stories about the A8.
Originally posted by Palmira: Today theyre owned by either downmarket sales reps (A3 and A4) or neaveau riche loud mouths with gold chains & greasy hair (A8).
