a very well written article on the new audi a8

[Eliot Lim <eliot@u.washington.edu>]

when CAR magazine first called the new A8 the best car in the world i
was pleasantly surprised but reading further i found that the article
to be not up to the magazine's usual excellence for persuasion.  it
sounded a little Crap and Drivel-ish with liberally sprinkled
hyberbole throughout.  i remained a little skeptical.

the latest november issue features another article on the a8, this
time written by the venerable LJK Setright and i have to say that if
he is in agreement with the rest of the staff, then the a8 must be
truly something special.

this article is far more subtle than the july one which was a
comparison test. i am now far more convinced than before that the a8
is the best car in the world.

setright first lays out the groundwork for what it takes to be a "Top
Car" which is "as the world sees them [..] never mind your views, nor
those of any tough young hooligan making his mark in some publisher's
sweat shop." (!!)

anyway, he puts the benz S class and rolls-royce/bentley in
the top echelon, followed by bmw 7 and lexus in the next.
and a third a final grade with 7 other makes.

he then carefully examines the a8 in comparison with these top
cars,  pointing out minute engineering details.  the quattro
drivetrain is once again singled out for praise.

"with such beautifully judged springing and damping, there is
no doubt that the car can handle the consequences of [the 300 bhp
engine] (the stability in cornering puts all other Top Cars to
shame), while remaining the jolt-free smoother of surfaces that
a luxury [sedan] must be."

"it is no longer sufficient for a Top Car to be a magnificent town
carriage. [..] it may seldom or never have to suffer the indignity of
being a shopping car, but it should be able to serve as such; it may
be beneath the dignity of the owner/occupier to indulge in impromptu
races with sports cars, but the car should be capable of avoiding
disgrace [..] it ought to do everything well."

"today, those few cars which are the world's best must be able to do
well, at the very least, all those things which the world's
specialised cars do well.  they must also appear to do them easily,
quietly, with finesse [..] if there is ever to be a Best Car In The
World, it will have to be best at everything."

"nobody has managed it yet, nor even come near - not even mercedes
benz [..] right now, the audi v8 quattro comes closer than any other
to the ideal, and accordingly deserves a place very high on the 
pyramid."

editor gavin green says that bmw and jaguar engineers "immensely
respect audi's bosses for having the guts to go ahead with such a bold
design.  yet they also fear that the car is commercial suicide."  he
desperately hopes that they are wrong.

somehow i fear that they would be right, especially in north america.
with this new round of cut pricing i wonder how badly audi is prepared
to bleed by bringing the loss making a8 here.

another snippet of news is that porsche and audi dealerships are
expected to merge once again in the american market.


eliot