Audi's Future

[David]

My understanding is that VW = luxury and Audi = Sporty...or at least that's how VAG wants it to be. VW is going to go after MB and Audi after BMW. Two, sort-of-different markets...but I don't think the whole idea is going to work very well. Who wants a $90,000 VW?!

Dave
87.5 CGT
SE VA
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From: Kent McLean <kentmclean at mindspring.com>
Date: 2004/03/24 Wed PM 09:17:58 EST
To: quattro at audifans.com
Subject: RE: Audi's Future

Dan DiBiase wrote:
> But now VAG's products seem to be eating their own....

I'd be more worried about the big slump in sales.
Quality problems (control arms and ignition modules
come to mind) haven't helped the cause.

They should take a look at GM and avoid GM's mistakes.
Back in the first half of last century (20s-50s), GM
had 5 product lines: bread-and-butter Chevy, middle
class Buick, Olds, and Pontiac, and top-of-the-line
Cadillac.  They ruled.  Then in the early 60s, the
product lines blurred - a Chevy Nova = a Buick Apollo
= a Pontiac Ventura = Olds Omega. Then the gas shorage
hit c. 1974, and Caddy needed a small car. It took
the Cavalier and made it a Cimarron.  That totally
destroyed the pecking order.  Is Cadillac a premium
brand? Not if you looked at the Cimarron. Was Chevy
an entry level bread-and-butter car? Not when it was
the same as the up-market Buick/Olds/Pontiac.  That
blurring of the product lines, and their atrocious
quality, has seen GM steadily loose market share.

Cut to VW.  VW was the inexpensive, bread-and-butter
entry level car. Now it's a premium sport sedan and
ultra-luxury models. What is VW trying to be?  And
it's Audi brand is what? A premium sport sedan?
Luxury model?  Add in their quality problems and you
have the makings of a GM-style market share slump.

Those guys should hire me to straighten them out.

Kent
'89 200 TQ, "Bad Puppy"

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