Re: Hannu Mikkola to drive Audi

[ScharfR@aol.com]

In a message dated 97-09-27 04:33:14 EDT, quk@isham-research.demon.co.uk
(Phil Payne) writes:

<<  Audi is following 
 a long-term marketing programme 'chasing' BMW and Daimler-Benz.  In the
first 
 instance, Audi's research showed them (this is a few years ago) that they
had a 
 good sporting reputation from being rally champions, but that amazingly a
lot 
 of the market didn't realise Audi was a German company. ...>>

Sounds very much like the BMW research of 25 years ago, where people thought
the "B" was for British.  Difficult as it is to comprehend now, the Bavarians
from Munich were once a bunch of nobodies in the car business.
 

<<  ...Research showed that 
 they could get a free ride on the 'German quality' bandwagon if only they
could 
 get people to realise they were a German company.  This was the reason for
the 
 explicit use of a German phrase ("'Vorsprung durch Technik', as they say in 
 Germany") in Audi's global advertising. ...>>

Except in America.  It's never been used here.  They've tried nearly
everything else, though, running through at least half a dozen themes in the
past ten years.  [sound of thunderclap, as a Great Idea dawns] Gee, you don't
suppose a lack of consistency could lead to a fuzzy image, do you?
 

<<  ... The second problem they decided to tackle was resale value.  Even
before the 
 'unintended acceleration' farce, Audis had worse RVs than BMWs - for no very

 good reason. ...  >>

Well, there was that little thing about rust.  Hence 100% two-side galvanized
sheetmetal (except the A8 and the new A6's hood, of course).