A8 vs. 740 vs. S420

["Paul E. Rivera" <rivera@deltanet.com>]

Well folks, here is my 25 cents worth on the subject.

I have driven all three cars.  They are all wonderful in their own way.

The MB S-Class cars were my favorite bank vault or a car I could advise someone to own if they could afford the 
opulence, size, corpulence, thirst, and future nightmare maintenence (Imagine the V12 with high miles let alone 
the multiplex electrical system when the gremlins invade)??).
MB S Class cars handle very well for their size and nearly 5K weight (dry and no passengers).  It is a great 
limo. Period. A worthy successor
to the 600 (well, close). Resale is not too bad after the first avalance drop. 50% in 3 years for the 600,
50% in 5 years for the S420/S320 ( my estimate :}. 

The 740 is much more competent as a drivers car. It is saddled with a large amount of electrical gimmicks as 
well, but it is engineered and built well. Roomy but not too large like the S Class, and the weight is less as 
well. 7 Series look pretty good with age and high mileage ones seem to still look good. However, 7 Series have 
been plagued with various maladies in each of their generations, especially electrical. Some of the problesm 
remind me of early 5CSTQ's, except worse!
The resale also sucks a lot of air, maybe as bad as some of the worst of the Audi's.


THE A8 is built like it was machined from a solid billet.
It feels as tight as a MB S Class, it is roomy inside like a livingroom without the exterior mass, weighs 
almost 1,000 pounds less than the S-Class, get better fuel economy, than the S-420 or S-500 (probably close to 
the S-320 in consumption), of course extreme "Sicherheits" from the 4 Wheel drive, terrific handling (I think 
the best of any large car), the interior will look great after 200K Miles as it is at least as good in quality
 materials as the MB if not better, the styling is conservative but timeless as well, and I guess I like it (or 
didn't you guess by now).  I could also mention crash-worthiness, as it is higher rated than the 7 Series and 
the S-Class by Auto Motor und Sport using TUV to crash test the cars for them.

I am concerned that the A8 marketing wll be too low key. They have not made money yet on the A8 and in Europe 
is is been used to build image but not the bottom line (directly that is). So if this is the case, they cannot 
afford to throw too much money at it.  My understanding of their plan is to have the dealers take orders and 
the car will be built to order specifications. Will Americans be willing to wait (as impatient we can be)?

Will the servicing be Lexus class as they are saying? According to what I have heard, they will pickup and 
deliver the cars back to the owners for servicing and provide a loaner car free in the meantime.
Collision damage will be handled regionally as the jigs, fixtures, tools, and methods are precise and detailed 
as to proper repair. Joe's panel beater shop is S**t out of luck handling a repair on this puppy.

Value. 65K for a A8 (4.2Q) vs. 75K for a S420 vs. 70K for a 740. Hmm. A8 wins in my book.

On a side note, I have read in the recent Car magazine that the new 3 Series BMW has been slipping in sales in 
Europe and the A4 has sent a wallop to the fellow Bavarians in Munchen. Bravo Audi!

I have place my 1.8TQ on order with Rusnak. September delivery. Can I wait?

Paul Rivera
90 V8