Re: Audi Price Cuts

["Barton P. Chambers" <bchambers@atlantic.nos.noaa.gov>]

Arun Rau writes with great wisdom in response to John Greenstreet's
articulate, but flawed, analysis; correctly noting:

[ka-ching]
> 
>  modern
> 	Japanese cars are (a) extremely reliable, (b) as durable
> 	as they need to be for the market they serve, and (c)
> 	are remarkably well-engineered.
> 
> 	We can argue about the nature and quality of the driving
> 	experience (oh my God, Fahrvergnuegen :-)), and indeed I
> 	enjoy driving my Audi, but for most people, the point
> 	is moot.
> 
> 	IMHO, Japanese cars are an engineering triumph because they
> 	satisfy a vast majority of the functional requirements at the
> 	lowest possible cost.  It's no great trick to design an excellent
> 	big ticket car: the magic (and the money, as the Japanese know
> 	very well) is in building inexpensive cars  which are really good.

[ka-chingggg}

> 	Bottom line is, we buy our German iron because we like it (for
> 	whatever reason: perverse in my case).  You don't really need
> 	any other rationale, but it's not surprising that the Germans
> 	are taking a beating in the bread-and-butter car market. 

Emotionally, I agree with what John said about german cars appealing
to (us) intellectually-advantaged types; but alas, it's pretty hard
to say with a straight face that they are better built or more durable.
They break often.  (It's a *Feature*, not a bug...)  

German cars are mother nature's way of telling you that you have too much 
money, and you love driving more than just motoring...

But, OTOH, as to the average consumer knowing sh*t from shinola... 
(pass that baby over here, I could use a hit or two myself...)

Cheers,

Bart Chambers
'77 Feline Varmint Felix, Gray Ta
'87 Syncro (Stealth Quattro)