Ever wonder why the newer Audis (and other cars) are sooo heavy?

[Geraint Lloyd]

the strategy is still a bit confused in europe though.
In CAR magasine's Good Bad and the Ugly they list the
alternatives to
the A3 (i think) as
1.Alfa 14whatever
2. Megane Sport
3. Skoda Octavia RS and a new fitted kitchen

'bout sums it up for me

geraint

Dan DiBiase wrote:
> Ingo Rautenberg <i.rautenberg at waratap.com> wrote: 
So does Csaba Csere of Car and Driver is his musings
from October of  
> last year:
>
>
http://www.caranddriver.com/columns/9981/the-steering-column.html
>
> Personally, I'd rather have a car that doesn't do
everything under  
> the sun.  One who dabbles in many things but is
master of none is  
> considered a dilettante. And for a car to do the
same is  
> unconscionable.  And it directly impacts quality and
reliability.   
> Creature comforts are fine, but they should not come
at the EXPENSE  
> of reliability and hence value retention.  Toyota
understands this.   
> I wish Audi did.  People have been talking about
Audi not getting  
> their marketing strategy right -- but even with a
great strategy, you  
> need an excellent product if you want to succeed.  I
suggest a  
> serious re-examination by Audi of what Audi wants to
be...
>
> But  Ingo, Csere doesn't even really mention the
increase in creature  comforts, nor does he mention
safety equipment - side impact beams,  airbags,
computers to power electronic safety devices like ABS
and  Stability Control - these have all added
significant weight. Sure, his  point is that most cars
are still steel - but I'm not sure it's really  fair
to compare a bike with a car anyways. The regulations
are  different. I can feel the weight in my Audi, but
to me it feels like  'good' weight - I always feel
very safe in the car, both passively  (rigid body,
plenty of airbags) and actively (ESP, ABS,  quattro 
and good power/handling). 
>   
>   I think that maybe Audi and VW are straightening
themselves out a bit,  marketing-wise, now that VW has
killed off the Phaeton, it's version of  the A8. Never
understood that. And going back to it's
value/performace  roots with the Rabbit/GTI makes
sense, leaving the luxury/sports end of  the brands to
Audi. So I think they are clearer than they were 18 
months ago, when it seemed like VW wanted to compete
with Audi.
>   
>   Dan D
>   '04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6
>   Central NJ USA
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