C5 RS6 - Daytona Grey/Silver, Carbon Fiber, RNS-E, O.CT ECU/TCU--sold :(
DD: 02 G500 - 35" Nitto Trail Graplers, baja roof rack, 52" LED light bar
Business Car: Gulf liveried 01 996TT w/ Tial Alpha A28 turbos + supporting mods - 700hp
here is a short vid ..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pPig...em-uploademail
http://www.caranddriver.com/news/201...-and-info-news
I wish we could say the same for Audi... EVERY MODEL available to US consumers... yes, the RS6 avant is prettier... but we will not have it EVER!!!!! Unless I beg and beg and beg... and even then we will not have it.
Funny how Porsche (same VW group) can also have every possible 100 versions of the 911 model... not Audi....
Dear plivac,
i do understand your point and i must admit in some sort you are right BUT please understand the choice of products offered within a local market are not set by Audi Germany alone. In fact the subsidiary company is in charge to determine the market.
As far as the US market concerns, the RS range for the next years to come is not engraved in stone. However keep up asking for RS cars even if you feel inappropriate about it. (continue the Letter to AoA initiative, social media etc.)
Please note Audi Germany has a new marketing board director, so if AoA wants more RS cars, they will get it.
PS: price wise the upcoming RS cars are more competitive for a variety of reasons...
Qisha
Is it bad that I was talking to a girl today and she mentioned she would like to live in Australia and my first thought was: I could finally have an RS6 Avant!
C5 RS6 - Daytona Grey/Silver, Carbon Fiber, RNS-E, O.CT ECU/TCU--sold :(
DD: 02 G500 - 35" Nitto Trail Graplers, baja roof rack, 52" LED light bar
Business Car: Gulf liveried 01 996TT w/ Tial Alpha A28 turbos + supporting mods - 700hp
Qisha,
I would like to stay with Audi if possible, but the company is really making it difficult for US drivers that want high end usable performance vehicles. I will most likely buy the e63 AMG Sedan or Wagon in the summer if RS6 or Rs4 is not available for purchase.
I am surprised how little research whoever is making this decision at AoA is doing:
1. 6 vs. 7 series in A or S mode - 2.5x times in sales in 2012
http://www.audiusanews.com/pressrele...h-audi-new-all
Also, s6 (not s7) is one of the fastest selling cars
http://fourtitude.com/news/Audi_News...ps-stocks-low/
6 series is clearly outselling the 7 series, but the meatheads at AoA are in some sort of denial. Now RS6 avant is not a sedan, and thus will not sell for as much as a sedan would, but it would still sell, as would an RS4 avant.
Why you cannot have both the 4&6 RS models, as you have the 5&7 models escapes me..... the cost cannot be that great....especially if you have people who want to pre-order them.....
Couldn't the sedan vs Avant concern be avoided by merely giving the US population the option to custom order whatever we like? They're all being built in Germany and share greater than 95% of the same parts? What's the big deal? I'd drive the RS-whatever that's on hand then order the sedan/coupe/Avant I prefer.
Alternatively, AoA could station one of each model at 2-4 audi dealers around the nation (LA, KC, NYC, Atlanta.) If I'm planning to spend somewhere in excess of $120k on a car, I'd fly into whatever city to test drive if I felt the need.
Just thinking out loud.
Merry Christmas all, Jim
Kansas City
take a look at this comment from RS4 avant petition page from Bryan on November 21st https://www.facebook.com/BringTheAudiRS4AvantToAmerica
People are slowly but surely getting tired of AoA "discriminational" policies and complete lack of interest in customer loyalty....
"I'll be blunt--regardless of Audi's efforts in WEC, FIA GT & ALMS, I have fundamentally very little to no respect for the brand. Audi of America is run by what have to be some of the most shortsighted individuals ever to be appointed to executive positions, outside of those that ran Lehman &Bear Sterns headlong into the ground. AoA has insisted on bringing nearly everything else to the our market, but WILL. NOT. BRING. the RS4 (or RS6 for that matter) Avant to our shores. Nearly every generation of RS4 Avant that Audi has had, the story is always the same--"Wagons don't sell here". Yet, I can point to the offerings of the Cadillac CTS-V Sportwagon (w/ Manual trans) and the Mercedes Benz AMG E63 Estate from your competitor's as counters to your incredibly flawed argument. Each of these vehicles is done as a special order from the factory of their respective maker (with the E63, it can also be European delivered, and then shipped to the dealership of the customer's choice). It goes w/o saying that since the RS4 Avant would be a specialty/performance model, then there will be a premium of some sort attached to the sale of the car, both in price&logistics. Further, it would make more sense(and possibly cheaper) to offer the car as Euro-delivery only, and then ship it over here (getting around the import rules that the DOT has on new cars). If Audi GmbH wants to increase the number of cars sold globally in order to surpass BMW, then they are going to have to get over the fear of selling the RS4&RS6 Avants here in the US. R8's aren't going to do it by themselves, and after awhile, the Q3/Q5/Q7/Tiguan/Toureg/Cayenne-clones are going to reach a market saturation point--if the goal is to increase the number of models sold in this country, then that is going to have to include ALL of the models offered by Audi. If it is that big of a deal to have enough slots available due to production constraints (R8 models not withstanding), then I guess the next thing that could be done is to offer a lottery for the car. This would be even dumber, but it might give your accountants on both sides some small comfort. So in closing, yes, it well past high time that Audi offer the RS4 Avant to USA buyers--you're running out of excuses at this point trying to justify not doing so, and it just might be costing you customers from an under-served/blatantly ignored niche/segment of the car-buying public. Thank you."
Are you aware that Cadillac has discontinued production of the CTS-V Sportwagon due to a lack of interest?
http://www.autoevolution.com/news/di...xed-52268.html
fair enough, we all know that "american do not like wagons" is a well accepted fact. That does not change the fact that an RS6 or RS4 avant are unique vehicles that cater to a unique group that exist and would buy them.
In fact I would go further and argue that the upscale avant is mostly a market where non-US produced cars are consumed like a volvo xc70, an MB E-class wagon, and an audi avant. These consumers just don't buy cheapo interior cadillacs - that is the truth. I actually went and looked at a CTS-V couple of years ago and the interior was just really, really, bad....
At the same time the cadillac wagon outprices itself from the lower tier american consumer that purchases subaru foresters, outbacks, minis, toyota's etc.
Back to the point of the message - MB seems to have no problems offering their Wagon in AMG as a special order... an Audi should do the same.
'12 auto sales further research:
SUMMARY: luxury coupes are not nearly sold as much as sedans and wagons do have a healthy market in the US just not in the luxury sector.
LUXURY COUPES
A7 sales = 7,672 http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2011/01...s-figures.html
panamera = 7,131 http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2011/01...s-figures.html
CLS - 7,362 http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2011/01...s-figures.html
BMW 6 series = 7,171 http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2011/01...s-figures.html
LUXURY SEDANS
------------------------------------------------------
A6 sales = 17,123 shttp://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2011/11/audi-a6-sales-figures.html
E-class sales = 58,187 http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2011/01...s-figures.html
5 series = 48,413 http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2011/01...s-figures.html
cadillac cts =43,607 http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2011/01...s-figures.html
WAGONS
------------------------------------------
xc70 volvo wagon = 4,995 http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2011/01...s-figures.html
subaru forester = 67,583 http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2011/01...s-figures.html
mini countryman = 18,788 http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2011/01...s-figures.html
also jetta sporwagon sold 21,387 units in 2012 YTD through november
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2012/12...-by-model.html
btw audi sold 15k A5s vs. 34k A4s in 2012 and only 750 R8s = yet they still managed to get the RS5 here... go figure
If Audi is "satisfied" with such a lame and feable presence in North America, so be it...
Not going to beg here...
The bottom line is that Audi wants NA to drink the A6/A4/Q5/Q7 kool aid and be happy and thankful for at LEAST these options.
It boils down to $$$$$. Nothing else.
SOLD - 03 RS6 Avus (905355)
Current - 03 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 double cab - the YETI, lifted, winched, snorkeled, lockered, skidded, geared
it always is a $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ story.....
Youry
RS QUATTRO
www.rsquattro.com
Dear Friends,take a look at this comment from RS4 avant petition page from Bryan on November 21st https://www.facebook.com/BringTheAudiRS4AvantToAmerica
People are slowly but surely getting tired of AoA "discriminational" policies and complete lack of interest in customer loyalty....
this looks good and it would make sense to add/cross link a "BringTheAudiRS6AvantToAmerica" Facebook page to this one.
At the moment it looks like AoA is waiting for the local market acceptance after the introduction of the Audi RS 7 (original Audi RS 6 |C5| Sedan customers will be contacted). If the interest is less than expected, AoA has a problem. If so the quattro GmbH might get the green light for engineering a Audi RS 6 Sedan to be introduced with the upcoming A6 facelift scheduled for 2014. However this is prospective...
The good thing is the early introduction of both the Audi RS 6 Avant and the upcoming Audi RS 7. This will give a timeframe to adjust the lineup if needed.
Personally i like the idea to bring a few Audi RS 6 Avant over and add them to scheduled Audi customer experience days.
Qisha