Brazilian Audis

[Justin Fidler <justin@codeboy.net>]

From: Carey Lyn <gsi05580@gsaix2.cc.gasou.edu>
>Other countries, such as Germany, Brazil and Thailand, always get the
>privilage of getting these best Audis, especially Germany and Brazil.
>They sometimes get lower powered Audis as well.  I have Thailand
>brochures with nonturbo 1.8 A4s and 2.4 V6 A6s.  The Brazilian magazine I
>have features the new A6 with a 1.8T. That's pretty bad.  US models are
>middle of the road Audis, not the highest powered Audis but definitely
>not the lowest either.

I was in Sao Paulo, Brazil this last October, and I happened to be there
during the auto show, which I attended (sorry, wasn't on the q-list
then, otherwise I would've written about it).

As in many countries outside the U.S., fuel is very expensive (it was
around US$4/gallon when I was there), and imported cars are taxed very
heavily.  A Geo/Chevy Metro (sold there under the Suzuki nameplate, as the
Swift), which is a 1.0 liter 2-door hatchback, goes for around US$20,000.
I couldn't dig up exact numbers, but it appeared that the A4 went for
around US$60,000.  One of the locals I was working with nearly fainted
when I pointed to an A4 (which are very rare on the streets) and told him
I owned one (maybe it's because I look like a punk kid...hmm). Mercedes
Benz offered the C-class, and I saw a few E-classes, but no S-class
because they're too big and no one could afford them.  Anyway, it's no
surprise that the vehicles are grossly underpowered -- it's too expensive
to have them any other way.

I did see some interesting models there.  The Ford Ka which is a
hatchback that looks to be smaller than the old Festiva (I'd like to see
this thing in a crash).  The VW Microbus was still offered as a current
model (at least the interior looked somewhat updated).  There was also a
sub-Golf sized VW called the Polo.  Ok, I'm sure the euro-listers are
getting annoyed because the Ka and the Polo are probably as common as
Honda Civics here in the states, and here I'm treating them as such a
curiosity.

What really surprised me is that Audi spent major $$ marketing the A6
during the auto show.  Literally 80% of the billboards nearby (and many
throughout the city) advertised the A6.  I found this a bit odd since very
few people could possibly afford one, so I'm not sure what the ROI was
(there's a reason you don't see Rolls Royce ads on billboards here in the
U.S.).  No other car company there did this kind of marketing blitz.

Justin