Re: Re[2]: Audi Price Cuts

[stevanov@orion.crd.ge.com (Ljubisa D. Stevanovic)]

John Greenstreet <jgreenst@motown.ge.com> writes:

>Both the Audi 100CS and all Mercedes have memory seats, and the S-class
>goes one further with memory for all interior and exterior mirrors,
>steering wheel tilt and telescope, and all seat adjustments even
>including seat-cushion length!  Only the LS400 offers even some of
...
>Other niceities, such as pneumatically-closing doors, which permanently
>remedy the door-slamming problem we Germans car owner have (German
>doors are much heavier than those of Asian cars and have an airtight
>seal, so they get slammed), true central-locking systems, and remote
>pop-down rear headrests are also niceties that have yet to even appear
>on Japanese cars.
...

John,

I'm sure you know that all these gadgets add weight. By the time they
load it up with every conceivable "feature," curb weight is close to
4000 lb and performance is diminished. This is further accentuated by 
Audis "one-world, one-car" policy, where engine design and choice of
gearing ratios get optimized for autobahn cruising, not stop-and-go type
of driving encountered in this country. However, this will change soon,
as Mad Ferdi indicated during recent Paris auto show (he was quoted as 
saying that "we will never again produce a Golf in Germany and Mexico with
the same sheet metal"). Hopefully, these changes will be more than 
skin-deep in case of Audi models destined for US market.

IMHO, Audi is getting swept in this country not because of 60 min. ghost,
but because of lack of image and, for the performance oriented folk,
lackluster engines (V6 case in point) saddled with 4000 lb car. Oh, and
changing names every couple of years certainly doesn't help either. 

Ljubisa Stevanovic (stevanov@crd.ge.com)