Audi at NY Auto Show (long)

["Jonathan Linkov" <ValiumNJ@msn.com>]

Went to the Auto Ahow at Javits yesterday.  Only one car that you could get 
into, a '98 A4q 2.8 with 30 valves and the Tiptronic.  Sales guy siad that 
they didn't know list and that he hadn't even HEARD of the car until he saw it 
yesterday morning.  Anyhow, his "price range" was $30k for the base 30 valver 
with a five-speed manual, up to, get this, $37k for the car with tiptronic!  
They also had another one, locked with two tone brownish-red leather and black 
interior.  Kinda ugly.  
Sales guy story on availability:  The stick 1.8s just got here but are 5 
months backordered.  The 30 valvers should get here in August, and the 
tiptronics in sept.  He actually told some guy that they have to stop making 
2.8s in order to make 1.8s!  
Aside from that, there was a cutaway A8, 2 A6s (I think) a cabriolet, and 2 
cool shades a4 1.8ts.  They also had an A4 Avant on a spinning display (looked 
nice) and a cutaway of the 30-valve engine.  As far as an S4 - The guy didn't 
know what I was talking about til I started bugging him.  Then he said, yea, 
there is talk of twin-turbos, 250 hp, etc, etc.  Bottom line — maybe 2 yrs, 
according to THIS guy.  All stories seems to vary and they are just that — 
stories.  Like my father has said "these guys don't know sh*t".  
Most of the dealer reps seems to have gotten their "Audi" attitude back.  I 
remember the last two years they were more friendly.  All of a sudden, they 
get a popular car and you would think they were WMB or Benz dealers.  They 
WERE fairly friendly in answering questions, but after I started pointing out 
differences to my girlfriend, I had people asking ME about the car....even one 
of the sales reps asked me to explain why I liked it to a potential buyer. 
I told the sales guy that they were losing people to the M3 with a lack of the 
S4 (or S6 or S8 for that matter compared to the 540i 6-speed) and his answer 
was that they sell the cars as fast as they get them in, so so what.  I 
countered that, so they have on hot seller, but has he seen the spreads in the 
Wall Street Journal that WMB takes out?  They push that M3 with standard 
traction controll a great deal and there are a ton of them.  Doesn't he think 
Audi would win the M3 buyers over with a quattro S4?  He didn't have an 
answer.

Jon Linkov
valiumnj@msn.com
'96 A4q