[s-cars] Truth vs. Joy

Fri Mar 19 05:47:04 PDT 2010

Another big +1.

I've owned five quattros over the years, and now don't own a single Audi. I can't even get close to what I want from Audi any more. They are making some of what I'd buy, but not bringing them Over Here. Stupid automagic transitions. Make the DSG bullet-proof, or give me a six-speed any day. Some appealing non-US Audis:
A3 TDI quattro with a six speed manual. It would be an ideal replacement for my Jetta TDI FWD sedan.
A4 Avant quattro, any engine, TDI preferred, manual transmission. I'd get one of these to replace my wife's Jetta Sportwagen TDI when it's due for replacement.
A6 Avant, 3.0 TDI, manual transmisison. Get the S-werks to breathe on one of these.
All the other cars need a massive diet, and lose the SUVs. Next we'll be seeing hiccup trucks.

On a related note, as Audi has won a few races with TDI race cars, why not make a S or RS TDI sedan/avant to celebrate that engineering feat? I'd love to see an S6 TDI Avant, would buy one in a heartbeat, even in its current porcine configuration. RS4 TDI Avant would be amazing.

-Ian.

On 19 Mar, 2010, at 08:26, Taka Mizutani wrote:

> A big +1, JC.
> 
> Audi has already lost their way as you've said. We need a more basic AWD
> sportscar/GT in the spirit of the UrQ- the TT doesn't cut it in that regard
> and the S5 is simply too heavy- if the RS5 was built with aluminum unibody
> and outer skin, then maybe.
> 
> Also, a more basic A4 which is the bread-and-butter car for the company-
> lose the millions of gadgets and offer a decently equipped one that doesn't
> have to have everything. Same with the A5. Kind of in the spirit of the 1
> series BMW, but with better execution.
> 
> IMO, the A3 doesn't really look right alongside the other Audi cars- it
> definitely needs a restyle. The only "premium" hatchbacks that I thought
> were styling successes are the Mini, the Fiat 500 and the original Volvo C30
> (not the 2010 restyle which looks terrible).
> 
> 
> Taka
> 
> 
> On Fri, Mar 19, 2010 at 7:47 AM, JC <jc at j2c3.com> wrote:
> 
>> Wylie thanks much for this interesting read.
>> 
>> I agree with a lot of it but disagree with the authors final conclusion in
>> that I fear Audi following the BMW track as we speak.
>> 
>> it's the curse of success - when you find yourself crushingly dominating in
>> one segment after a while, hubris sets in, you think you can do anything
>> and
>> everything for everybody.  the only place to go is up and out and they turn
>> to the 'seductive' (what Auto execs get seduced by I guess) idea of ruling
>> in the mass market.
>> 
>> then the next multiplying error is that apparently in the auto industry
>> this
>> means you require focus-group designed products. welcome to the ocean of
>> mediocrity. while listening to the customer is critical, focus group
>> product
>> design has lots of problems and is usually done the WRONG way in the auto
>> industry and that's what leads these companies down the path.  the best
>> analogy is "would you ever ask Joe off the street what ingredients to put
>> in
>> a 5-star gourmet entrée?"  well if you did you'd never get the brilliant
>> and
>> mind-blowing creations of the worlds best chefs, you'd get the same crap
>> that Joe has had before... he's not a freakin chef and car owners are not
>> designers or stylists.   iconic and compelling design needs to stretch
>> people's ideas - we are impressed by things that surprise us, not things
>> that fall into our dumb comfor zone.
>> 
>> back to AoA - while a lot of the current cars are still pretty great (love
>> my wife's new A3 yes I know it's a golf platform) and it's nice that we
>> continue get some S cars (surprised we were allowed the S5 for instance)...
>> it's things like the disappearance of manual transmissions, and restriction
>> of quattro availability and the bloat of curb weight and size across the
>> range (an A4 now is massive compared to the little nimble car it started
>> out
>> as) that looks EXACTLY to me like AoA going down the BMW path...
>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: s-car-list-bounces at audifans.com
>>> [mailto:s-car-list-bounces at audifans.com] On Behalf Of W. Bean
>>> Sent: Thursday, March 18, 2010 10:29 PM
>>> To: s-car-list at audifans.com; quattro at audifans.com;
>>> urq at audifans.com; 20v at lists.20v.org
>>> Subject: [s-cars] Truth vs. Joy
>>> 
>>> 
>>> http://www.autoextremist.com/current/2010/3/16/the-autoextremist.html
>>> 
>>> 
>>> --
>>> Wylie Bean
>>> TheRingmeister at triad.rr.com
>>> 90 cq
>>> 91 90q20v sport
>>> 92 UrS4
>>> 08 Q7 3.6
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
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