RE: Why They Should Have Built the Avus

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

Audi seems to have put a great deal of $$ into print advertising for the A8.  
There are numerous advertisements in recent NY Times, Washington Post, USA 
Today and Wall Street Journal issues.  But is this where they are culling 
their purchasers?  Maybe the WSJ and NYT, but I think mags and TV are better.  
Yes, the ad campaign needs more.....umph!

Jon Linkov
valiumnj@msn.com
'96 A4q

----------
From: 	owner-quattro@coimbra.ans.net on behalf of Elliott Potter
Sent: 	Friday, August 01, 1997 12:55 AM
To: 	quattro@coimbra.ans.net
Subject: 	Re: Why They Should Have Built the Avus

>On Thu, 31 Jul 1997, Elliott Potter wrote:
>
>>>Reality check.  Even when Audi toyed with the idea of building the AVUS, it
>>>was with a $1,000,000 price tag.  Pretty small market.
>
>>Yea, but didn't that price tag include the W12 engine?  If they put in
>>the V8 then the cost would come down, wouldn't it?
>
> [...]
>
>But if that indeed happens, you'll still be stuck with $900,000 Avus --
>which I assume is out of range for most of us. By the way, ain't the press
>have always said the A8 is the image car Audi sells at a loss?

Well, I'll start counting my pennies...

The A8 might be an image car except for two reasons.

-The whole point of the design of the car is to be understated.  While
that might be a virtue in itself, an image car has to stand out, and
this is designed to do just the opposite.  Maybe if someone gets in it
or takes a close look, they will say "wow this car is really a
technological marvel," but if it drives by them on the street, they will
most likely not even notice it.

-Advertising.  Audi has never been very good at advertising, but this is
just rotten.  It seems to me that now that they are actually *selling*
cars here, they could spend $10 or so on ads, but nooooo they won't
spend a dime.  So who's heard of the A8?  I know quite a few people who
don't even know what Audi is!

Then I show these people pictures of the Avus, and they drool all over
them.  The Avus is  great image car because a)it stands out, and b)it
really is as fast as it looks.  If they could make even two or three of
them, and race them in highly publicized races, people would drool over
it the same way the do over the Dodge Viper.  An image car has to be
something that draws people to the showroom, and it has to be able to do
it from a distance.  And Audi has to ADVERTISE!!!

OK, all done.

Elliott