2002 A4 introduced

[Dan Simoes]

I was at the press preview at the NY Auto Show today.

Audi "unveiled" the new A4, which has been on sale in Europe for several
months now.  Ho hum.  The booth was very heavily decorated in "sport"
with lifesize replicas of the R8 hanging on the wall, and references to
the races everywhere (no mention of rallying though).

Most of the lineup was there (A4 1.8tq, A6, Allroad, S4 Avant, S8, TT).

The new bodystyle is very nice, IF you like the current A6.  It's better
proportioned, and more agressive.  

The display cars were both 3.0 V6.  The "multitronic" is actually a CVT
automatic, and is available in FWD only.

Probably the most valuable titdbit I can share is this - the new A4
sedan will be available in October, and the wagon will follow several
months later (NB - the wagon does not come out in Europe until Oct, so
don't expect it here before the 2003 model year).  It will be at least
18 months before we then see a new S4, with an S4 avant to follow.
What this means is that the current S4 sedan and wagon will continue for
2002, even though there will be a new bodystyle A4.  They will only be
sold for a few months though, as Audi will crank those cars out and
retool the line for the new cars, as I understand it.

I asked if the S4 Avant has been selling well and was told "90-100 per
month" which is somewhat meeting expectations, though it is
cannibalizing some sedan sales.  But according to my local dealer, they
are not selling well, at least compared to the sedan.

I asked if there is any truth to the rumor that Audi is considering
importing the S3 in light of Subaru's success with the WRX (almost 1500
cars sold already, most pre-orders) - there are no current plans.

Subaru and Mitsubishi both had no problem with rallying, and it was a
focus of both booths.  Subaru will be unveiling an officially sponsored
SCCA Pro Rally car tomorrow, and Mitsu had Tommy Makinen's Evo VII on
display.  They also showed a japan spec Evo VII and made strong hints
that they are trying to bring the car into the US.

Wagons are making a strong comeback - the yellow Mazda Protege wagon is
almost exactly the same shade as the S4 Avant in the Audi booth next
door, and the cars are even parked at the same angle.  Suzuki is coming
out with something called the SX - tallish wagon with AWD and 220hp.

The show opens to the public on Friday and runs for a few days to a
week.
The official site is www.autoshowny.com.

| Dan |