infiniti ads -- still more

[Shaun D. Mullen]

Audi (and VW) have nothing to fear but themselves.  Taking the looong
view, Audi had the AWD market all to itself for basically two decades.
What is surprising is that with the conspicuous exception of Subaru, it
took other automakers so damned long to catch on to AWD as a marketing
gimmick and, yes, as an important contribution to drivability and
safety.  The Quattro system far outshines the Subaru system, yet Subaru
has done a better job of marketing.

Horsepower and torque, two areas where Audi is no longer a leader, are
but only two of the equations that go into selling automobiles.  So is
AWD vs. RWD and FWD.  The biggest factor is marketability, pure and
simple – the ability to project your automobile as something beyond
wonderful.  That's why the next big push from Detroit will be ... (drum
roll please) RWD (!!!)   Not because it's better, but because its
different and therefore marketable.

Insofar as TV commercials, Infiniti has beaten the lederhosen off of
Audi.  In fact, Audi commercials seem more akin to the touchy-feely
Zen-like Infiniti commercials that were so ridiculed when Nissan first
spun off that unit.  Did I say that Audi (and VW) have nothing to fear
but themselves?

Shaun Mullen
Newark, DE