Why is Audi the New Media Darling (NMD)?

All the automotive rags and media seem to be in love with the "new" Audi. New models seem to get as much coverage as the release of a new iPhone. They keep winning comparos against the competition from Mercedes and BMW. Each new generation seems to be universally accepted as an evolutionally improvement over the outgoing model.

Dealers only keep a modest inventory, and don't even bother preordering popular models. Audi only offers modest discounts and doesn't bother to heavily subsidize lease pricing. My local dealer is thriving without the need to offer decent customer service or free espresso.

Thoughts?

 

I have owned Audi's and their appeal seems mostly over the aesthetic and the Quattro platform which is outstanding. I bought (and still own) a 2000 A6 with the 4.2 V8 and the car is amazing all year long, although very thirsty, numb in the steering wheel but very well appointed. It was a non sport version and pretty sloppy but stable as it is a very heavy car.

The finish and fit of the materials in the car are at the top of the game across the spectrum of the executive sedan class. And the new 2013 A6 supercharged V6 is a brute. Don't forget their racing dominance over the last 8 years in the LeMans series and there it is. Plus Audis are very beautiful up close.

We would most likely have bought another Audi but they and BMW both took their wagons off the list this year so I dove into looking over an E350 Sport Wagon. I personally feel this Benz is the best looking wagon ever. And we popped for the special order Designo Graphite paint to make it even more unique. 4matic is new to me but I can't imagine it not working well. My wife and I were going to move up to an S class or A8 but just couldn't spend the money. I fell all over a white luxury wagon at the dealership, drove a sport sedan next and made the choice to order a sport wagon 4matic a few days later. "Audios" Audi.

There are some odd little things in the 2013 Audi A6 3.0T that appeal to me still. The nav screen can be completely put away and the dash looks old school again. The ambient lighting is red and appeals to the pilot in all of us. Audi's just seem to have to be silver metallic or black over black, so there is no fretting over color palette. They come with full size spares. Which means you can rotate bent wheels in and out of the trunk, which is cavernous. I am not a run flat guy. Not yet that is.

Don't get me wrong, I am head over heals over the Benz we ordered. We drove luxury wagons and S class cars and sport 350s and decided on the wagon. The Benz is much more suited to the task we will ask of it, and looks and feels like a better match to the price point than the Audi. We are talking 65K plus here, and it seems the Audi places a lot of that final 15k in technology, which most certainly appeals to the gerations below me. I prefer analog cars actually and I am in my mid 40s.

In the end the Benz actually decided for us when we saw the rear facing kid seats, which we plan to use especially during our 10 day stay in Yellowstone this summer with our 3 and 5 year old boys, panoramic roof too. I know those rear facing seats will only accommodate them for few years, but c'mon, what father wouldn't want the option of the kids screaming away from the cockpit during roadtrips? Add to that the fact that I actually like my salesman and the dealership owner. I have had my 93 300 CE cabriolet over to their service department who did a good job for an as-fair-as-a-dealership-can-be price, and now I just keep counting the days until my new wagon arrives.

IMO German cars are awesome and expensive. I am glad to have the opportunity to try out a different brand as I don't buy new cars very often.

I imagine its the aesthetics and brand image plus a boost from the technology that puts the Audi ahead for now.

Cheers,
Bob

 

While i am not a fan of the exterior of audis, i will say that i far prefer their media interface system. The maps, the sound setups, the touch-screen control pad thing.....I love em all more then the COMAND system. I think people are now starting to place a lot more value on the computer systems of a ca., now that things like GPS and sat radio are all becoming more common, so when you compare features like that, which more 'everyday' people value over performance of a high end Benz engine or handling, audi seems to draw more attention for that

 

Well, firstly, the "Automotive Media" are very selfish in how they gauge cars. Performance, rawness, and precision is what wins tests, all else doesn't matter to them.

BMW used to be the "Media Darling", and now they've been "dethroned" by Audi, as Audi has taken their place tenfold. BMW's got softer and more luxurious, while Audi has maintained a more precise, light, "exact" driving feel yet isn't as coddling as BMW (or Mercedes).

I feel like Audi has taken from Apple's winning strategy more than any of their competitors, and that's why they're gaining market share around the world rapidly. Oddly enough, the U.S is about the only market where they're still getting whupped by M-B.

Audi makes simple and clean designs, like Apple. Very Germanic and "Teutonic", Bauhaus, which is why so many like them. People love high quality designs that are confidently simply penned. It gives an aura of "not brash but still supreme", if executed right. Mercedes and BMW are getting so superfluous with their designs and exterior details lately, I think Audi's simplicity is really pulling an "Apple" on them both, and that's one reason why Audi is so hot right now.

What I think is REALLY helping Audi's "cool factor" is how they DON'T ***** out their product with desperate incentives. As a premium-manufacturer, they actually make you feel like you have to "pay up" to get into the "club". As a Luxury manufacturer, IMO Mercedes and BMW's incentives start to appear very "mass market" and are a turn off.... though I'm more than happy to take advantage of them. Being under the VAG umbrella allows Audi to maintain some dignity in terms of lack of incentives and *****-outs, keeping supply tight enough to not bloat everything too much, because VAG has their other mass market movers. Daimler and BMW AG live and die by the Mercedes and BMW brands.

Me, personally? I find Audi designs usually very boring. However, I've just never been attracted to that "Audi look", like I appreciate and respect it, but there's something that doesn't chemically mix between me and it.

Oh, and that pop up screen is a joke!

 

"Oddly enough, the U.S is about the only market where they're still getting whupped by M-B."


Oddly is because in the U.S. (perhaps in Canada too?) car pricing between Audi, BMW and MB is very close the same.

Go to Europe and the MB cost more and that has a lot to do with what people buy no matter how much they say they just don't like MB.

 

Maybe because they are simply better???

 

It's trendy - and automotive media has been beat up over their BMW/Corvette/Porsche bias over the past few years. As stated above, the media is primarily concerned about raw power and going fast.
Also, Audi has improved their cars and sometimes it is not about how good the car is, but how much it has improved over previous models.
Not that familiar with Audi, but after sitting in both in 2010 the A4 and A6 did not impress me enough to even take for a test drive.
Could it be that Audi is concentrating on fewer, better models, whereas M-B and BMW are introducing more and more models with more and more different engines and drivetrains?

 

they are?
maybe they paid off the media.....





because Mercedes Benz is clearly where it's at

 

Based on the replies so far, the potential reasons include the following. Pretty impressive list that any company would be proud of.

1. Aesthetics and quality
2. Quattro
3. Brand image - cool factor
4. Technology - media interface
5. Clean designs with high quality materials
6. They don't ***** out incentives to purchase
7. Simply better
8. Improvement over previous models
9. Concentration on fewer and better models
10. Paid off the media

 

That is a good list, VW made the pledge they would grow their base over 20% globally and they are well on their way with all the brands, VW/Audi/Porsche/Bugatti.

 

Sold my 22 month old VW JSW so I could get the Benz I now drive and love.
So much more car for the same money.

An Audi is nothing but a slightl better VW.
Same engines, but their vehicles are far to expensive. And way over priced!
Ten grand more for an A3 over a VW JSW and the A3 is ten inches shorter in the back where one needs
the space. After all, it's a small station wagon. And being shorter, it is heavier? Give me a break!

Would you rather have any 'S' class or a so called 'King of the Luxury Cars' Audi A8L?
Ther's no question in my mind.

Considering what VW is trying to do, they will not do it by not giving the customer what they demand.
I E Not being able to order the SEL Passat with a manual tranny. If you want the manual,
you must buy the lower priced less equipped SE model that does not have mor can
you equip it with all the bells and whistles. Not very smart IMHO.
I know of one person who bought the SE even though he really would have gotten the SEL IF he could
have bought it with a manual. And as you know, that vehicle is assembled right here in the US.



DHG

 

Not sure what the point of your post is, but VW sales are through the roof. I'm pretty certain they'd lose money building and trying to sell more manual transmission cars, especially at higher pricepoints. Wish it weren't true, but the industry started waving goodbye to manual transmissions a few years ago. Mercedes hasn't offered a manual in years, and Ferrari and Lamborghini dropped them altogether a couple years ago. I'm pretty sure VW knows what their doing.

You pay the same for your Benz as you did for your Jetta wagon? Either you got raped on the Jetta or got one hell of a deal on the Merc.

 

in terms of pure looks, audi has the best overall fleet right now. aa has been stated, simple, clean designs. not every car is a winner (i think the current a4 is too big/stretched...looks out of proportion)

however, some particular models really are just nice VWs. to make a audi a worthwhile buy, you need to get off the 'pumped up vw' models and go for one of their more unique designs. case in point, the S5 has a fantastic engine and is beautiful. beautiful.

 

One thing I must say, some of the Audi's feel under-powered. Take for instance the A7, it just does not have the punch I am looking for. Other than that, good cars from a distance, how are the repair rates on these things?

 

Really? That's interesting. I found the A7 to feel crazy responsive and fast for a 300 HP car. Much more powerful feeling than the 306 HP new E350 and even more-so than the 535i (it's lighter than the BMW, however).

To go along with that, almost all magazines comment on how "freakishly fast" the Audi S/C V6's with 300 HP's are when you consider how much HP they claim (i.e feels freakishly fast for a car said to have "just" 300 HP), not to mention the straight line statistics of those cars outperform lots of competitors cars with significantly more horsepower.

 

I want back and re-read the responses, and the above comment from El Cid really resonated with me.

While I disagree that the current media is primarily concerned with raw power and going fast (IMO they are primarily concerned with the elusive "fun to drive" factor), they do seem to be focused on how much a car has improved over the previous models.

Case in point, the media has been relentless on BMW for the newer generation cars not being the "ultimate driving machine" and having less communicative steering. The media is saying that the car has not improved in the critical fun to drive test.

Read the following recent comparison by Road & Track that places the Audi A6 3rd out of 4 despite winning all the performance tests. The Lexus GS350 won because of the fun to drive factor, and I believe partly based on the bias resulting from the significant improvement in this regards from the previous model.

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/..._sedans/?ti=v2

Audi has won a significant amount of comparisons (Inside Line below) because each generation has improved on the past, and the fun to drive factor has increased on all the newer Audi's compared to the past.

http://www.insideline.com/audi/a6/20...ison-test.html

 

Hey, going with what I felt compared to my experience with my CLS, which is 305HP. Perhaps I need another test drive just to be sure?

I think I may visit Audi again..

 

Since you have commented, I will 'plain.

VW sales are not 'through the roof' as you say. When my friend was in the market for a Passat
TDI with a manual. there were only a couple available here in the entire state of California.
And only one dealer down in San Diego was willing to deal on the only one
he had. I think VW plays the shortage game to keep the prices up.

You are wrong on MBZ not making and selling manual transmissions.
There is a C Klass coupe where the standard tranny is a manual.

NO, I was not raped on my VW to CDI exchange.
Sold my 22 month old '10 VW JSW TDI with 43K miles on it to Carmax for $18K cash.
Bought our '05 E-320 CDI, an original owner as new seven year old sedan
with 107,750 miles on it, a local California car for $17,800 cash.

If that is being 'raped,' others should be so lucky.

FYI . . the is no comparison between these two vehicles.
The only things they have in common is that they are both German and run on D2.



DHG

 

Little correction to your thoughts about manual transmission.

VW does not build manual transmissions by special order. It is the automatic that gets "special ordered" rather. Very few of their cars are made with automatic and those are almost exclusively for the market area of North America, where they could not sell cars with manual transmission for the simple reason of people who would buy them could not drive one. In Europe and China and elsewhere you bust really be looking for a VW car with an automatic transmission.

One reason for having almost no automatics is fuel consumption. The other is that automatic transmission used to take a lot of power just to turn the torque converter and with a small 1.3 - 2.0 liter engine it made the car a snail. Transmission technology has taken leaps forward and now you can have a small engine car with an automatic on it but still, the automatic is the far less produced model in the world compared to manual.

 

Audi like most others have passed MB in the wow factor, and what I mean is that when you get into an Audi or Lexus you see the beautiful interriors(not that the Benz isn't) with the large nav screen. All the gadgets and gizmos that make people sitting in the passenger seat say, wow, thats cool. Its kinda like the cell phone market, people that had an iphone 4 had to have the iphone 4s because it talks to you, it doesn't matter that I can't get a signal to make a call. Its the wow factor that is selling right now for people that don't understand about the other things with these cars, like safety, reliability, and comfort. I think the Audi interriors are beautiful(except for that stupid pop up nav), and the touch pad adds to the wow factor(don't think I would ever see myself using it), but the exterriors imo, are just like KA said,, BORING(except the 5 coupe). I'm happy with my MB, doesn't matter to me what the magazines say, I believe its the best all-around car on the market. Just give me a little bit bigger and better nav with more info, and I will own my perfect car.

 

You've made so many false and erroreous staements, I do not know where to start!

I'm speaking of N A 'cause that is what I know and where I have lived for more than 76 years.

If you go to most all VW dealers here, you are indeed lucky IF you find any VWs with a manual transmission.
That does not mean that there is no demand for them, only that the factory here in N A is no building
enough of them, especially in the Jettas and Passats with TDI engines to meet the demand.
The DSGs are good, but they will not give the excellent Fuel Economy
that a manual will mainly because of their overall gearing.

That statement about Americans not knowing how to drive a manual transmission is not only untrue but unkind.

I've been driving manual transmissions for over 65 years and I know many
other people that not only know how, but actually prefer a manual.



DHG

 

Green E-300 DT - I think we're getting a bit off topic. Let's get the focus back on why Audi seems to be the new media darling.

 

My point of view is Audi has been dominating Le Mans since they joined in it.What makes it even more interesting is they have mostly won the LMP1 Class in diesel engines until this year .
This last summer race held in June , they went too far to the point of winning it in hybrid car called it E-Tron
I remember Winding Road talked about Audi's diesel engines and they had a statement like this : What Do Germans Know About the Diesels That We Don't Know lol
And can you please take attention to detail Audi has been using , naming their latest technological geek : E-Tron
Does it ring the bell , huh lol
It's reminiscent of a sci-fi movie and normally they could label their hybrid car as Hybrid or something like this but they picked up a name which is very resoundingly attractive
Well, Audi crew know how to advertise their products , not to mention Iron Man's car is R8 too . Nat Geo even talked about toughness of the car , film crew failed to roll up the car during a crash scene and they had to make some alterations in the movie because of that

Design wise I find Audi models well proportioned but Audi's fastback coupe should be a testimony of how MB did a great job by making a car in low sleek coupe form , CLS

 

Which I do not share.

Reminds me of a saying that has been around for a long long time:

You can fool some of the people some of the time, but
you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.

It may seem to some of you that the Audi is the greatest,
but I for one DO NOT AGREE.



DHG

 

Ah, you got a used car with 107k on it for about the same price. I thought you were talking about a new diesel.

As for your other comments, YTD sales for VW is up 37%. All without your friend being able to find a manual TDI Passat.

The C-coupe is no longer offered in manual transmission and when it was, speaking in North American terms as well, "standard" was a bit of a misnomer.

To round it back around on topic, I don't think Audi is the greatest, but they provide a great well rounded package right now against some of their class rivals. That's pretty much what most of the mags I've read say when you get past the bragging rights numbers.