sure, the Q7 is a great car and i understand audi doesn't want to dilute it's importance, but where does that leave us- the true audi sports enthusiasts?
where is the S6, the S8, the new TT, a new concept of some sort (Q5)?
new york had better show the S6 or the S8 because geneva (half a year away) will have to be the place to show the new TT and a concept of some sort.
who knows about the R9...dubai, whenever that is....
i am VERY disappointed and now i'm glad i couldn't go.
I just spoke to rene (rzamora) who is down there, and he says the whole show is a bit of disappointment. No big news from many suppliers.
I agree, it's the big show in Germany and not a lot of news.
RS6.com Owner and Admin. The PRISM of RS6.com - Click here to send me an e-mail
Agreed. To focus on a "soccer mom" people mover from the company that "Never Follows" (ahem... now it's "To Lead is Greater than to Follow") IS a huge disapointment. I can't believe that is all they are showing!Originally posted by RXBG
sure, the Q7 is a great car and i understand audi doesn't want to dilute it's importance, but where does that leave us- the true audi sports enthusiasts?
where is the S6, the S8, the new TT, a new concept of some sort (Q5)?
i am VERY disappointed and now i'm glad i couldn't go.
As you mention, how sad for us enthusiasts who DON'T care about glorified minivans and actually want to see sport models.
And if all the manufactures aren't showing anything special, than I'm certainly glad I didn't take the advice of some and postpone my trip just so I could take in the Frankfurt show. That would have pissed me off.
Ben
Einstein once said, "I want to know God's thoughts, the rest are details."
Ron Paul Fan
Deep in my heart ,I'm still an "Audi" guy,even though my last Audi was '02 S8 and had scores of MB cars since.
I'm afraid that again, Audi will come to the market too late and with too little to really compete with AMG or M.
Also,I'm not really interested in spending big $$$ on a car on it its last leg(end of production cycle).
They have to bring S6/RS6/S8 within next 6-12 months otherwise they become irrelevant in high performance sedan market.
i wholeheartedly agree. that was a strategy good for a growing company. now that it has hit the big time audi will have to come sooner with these models. it is gearing up to do that by expanding quattro gmbh but it will take time. the next year or two will be critical for audi.Originally posted by absent
Deep in my heart ,I'm still an "Audi" guy,even though my last Audi was '02 S8 and had scores of MB cars since.
I'm afraid that again, Audi will come to the market too late and with too little to really compete with AMG or M.
Also,I'm not really interested in spending big $$$ on a car on it its last leg(end of production cycle).
They have to bring S6/RS6/S8 within next 6-12 months otherwise they become irrelevant in high performance sedan market.
when picking up my finacee's car a few months ago i was told by one of the salesmen that audi sent a secret memo stating that 2006 will be the "year of sport" for audi: intro of the S6, S8, the new TT, the R9, AND the R10 race car.
i do plan on being in geneva for the third year in a row. i've never been to frankfurt but geneva is the bomb...and lausanne is beautiful too. i love paris too (but i "only" expect the B8 there and maybe the Q5 concept).
someone plase tell me where the R9 will be
The biggest shows are Geneva and Paris (which is every 2 years just like Frankfurt).
My guess is this:
Detroit: S6
Geneva: TT/ S8
Paris: Q5 concept/ R9
I'm sure we will have a surprise in the meantime.
"A FOND"
Hopefully your wish will come true....
What a disaster.
With a looming energy crisis on the horizon, now is probably not a particularly appropriate moment to launch a high performance car. Petrol prices are at record levels, Hurricane Katrina has been attributed to global warming, and global warming has been blamed on vehicle emissions. And things may get worse.
Not just Audi, but quite a few manufacturers pulled new model launches at the last moment. We got precisely two surprises. The Mini concept and the BMW Z4. The two big scheduled launches that did take place, the new S-Class and Q7, can hardly be described as environmentally appropriate cars.
I certainly expected to see the RS4 Avant. This will now be Geneva with sales starting in June. Late. Late. Late.
The one car that does make sense right now is the humble little Audi A2. Fantastic fuel economy thanks to the light weight of its aluminium structure. But they're replacing it with an inferior car, ie with a steel instead of aluminium chassis, so it will be less efficient. Not what I call Vorsprung durch technik.
honestly, tailpipe, i don't believe that audi really had any other intros planned. the RS4 avant would have been the only exception. and besides, the public isn't stupid. it is OUR fault the environment is what it is, not the car makers. and we always have a choice in the kind of car to buy.
besides. a show like this is about the enthusiasts . and it pissed me off. i am so glad i didn't spend my hard earned money on the trip.
also- jury is still out on global warming = katrina. though the press loves the headline
Global warming= big Barbara Streisand
Cyclical climate changes will happen anyway,regardless of people driving Hummers or Priuses.
Yes, and if you listen to certain rappers, they'll tell you President Busch made Katrina hit New Orleans because it's populated with predominately Black.Originally posted by tailpipe
Hurricane Katrina has been attributed to global warming...Some people!
Einstein once said, "I want to know God's thoughts, the rest are details."
Ron Paul Fan
When it comes to new model news, the people who do know exactly what is going on and when are all bound by draconian confidentiality agreements not to breathe a word.
Those of us who know and communicate with insiders have to interpret coded messages. Sometimes, we need to make educated guesses based on the facts we do know. Most of time, we get it smack on, e.g. Detailed RS4 spec 9 months before official presentation . Occasionally, we get it wrong. My mates in Ingolstadt informed me that Audi had intended to take the Frankfurt show by storm. It just didn't happen, and Because it happened at the last moment, I didn't know.
Everyone is talking about a loss of confidence in the Industry at this time. Of course, Hurricane Katrina isn't directly responsible for this, but with recent fuel price hikes everywhere - the oil companies have clearly manipulated the situation for their advantage. If they are behaving dishonestly, Katrina may not be the cause but it is certainly the catalyst.
Current price hikes have upset quite a few people in Europe. The real issue high oil prices bring into focus is that oil will run out during the lifetime of our children. The fact that supplies are finite and that we have used 50% of the world's supplies in the last 100 years and will use the remaining 50% in the next 50, (if you believe estimates), then there is a certain imperative to use remaining stocks wisely.
There is a growing anti-SUV lobby in the UK. In all European markets, environmentalists are concerned about profiligate use of petrol and high emissions. It may not be a hot topic in the USA yet. But after you have experienced sustained high petrol prices for a while, attitudes will begin to change.
Because this is a hot topic that divides opinion quite markedly, the potential for public arguements is clear. Keen to avoid negative press or the even the risk of negative press, it is simply easier for manufacturers to wait before launching new high performance models. Most of the expected new releases were high performance models; so Audi did the smart thing to wait, if indeed they did postpone various launches.
I am particularly surprised that the RS4 Avant didn't appear. It really should have arrived in MArch to be honest. This makes me think that the packaging isn't working as well as anticipated. I don't know, but it is far too late IMHO.
Audi's hybrid efforts were not at all visible before this week. What was shown was smoke and mirrors and is years away from production. Like SUVs and the Q7, Audi is also late to the Hybrid party. Sorry, but that is the truth.
Not a hot topic in the US? Then you haven't heard of the Eco guys trying to torch a Hummer dealer then!:bigeyes: You can bet its a hot topic hear as well. It just doesn't stop people from making and buying them. Not yet anyway. Besides, the oil companies LOVE em!Originally posted by tailpipe
There is a growing anti-SUV lobby in the UK. In all European markets, environmentalists are concerned about profiligate use of petrol and high emissions. It may not be a hot topic in the USA yet.
Like SUVs and the Q7, Audi is also late to the Hybrid party. Sorry, but that is the truth.
And yeah, Audi has not been showing to much "Never Follow" lately.
Ben
Einstein once said, "I want to know God's thoughts, the rest are details."
Ron Paul Fan
Oil supplies "finite"?????!!!!
No proof of this,new oil fields are found on a regular basis,we were supposed to run out of oil in the 90's ,according to some "experts" in the 70's.
Just the oil that currently is too expensive to extract using conventional technology ,exceeds all known "easy" oil fields of the Gulf by tenfold.
You guys in Europe, tend to believe too much in all the hype and pure BS spewed by the totally ignorant media types and your opportunistic politicians.(who like in US,are too dumb to become succesfull on their own,so they end up in politics)
Audi did not introduce anything interesting not because they felt the time was not right for high performance cars,but because they did not have anything ready yet.
The parent VW is a totally screwed up company and there is a lot of bad internal politics there ,affecting Audi's operation.
Pischetsrieder just called Audi products a "complete waste of money",how stupid of him to strangle the only cash cow in his Company?
This thread took a strange turn.
I just think the VAG group didn't want the Q7, Eos, Golf GT,... and other "plain Jane" money makers to be overshadowed by the "supermodels".
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