A4Driver

According to an article in today's Wall Street Journal, Audi AG reported that sales dropped by 11 percent in February, and the automaker expects the decline to be 10 percent for the entire year.

Talk amongst yourselves.
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markcincinnati

I'd call that encouraging (for Audi, at least.)

dk1

Comparing to other major automakers not so bad indeed.

mktt

only in this economy could that be considered a good thing

Austin A6 3.2

There is NO Audi slump, there is a worldwide economy slump.

Audi's -11% are a great result, compared to other luxury manufacturers.

I can't find worldwide sales, but I could find US sales numbers for a few companies:

Audi vehicle sales -24.4%
BMW Automobile Sales -32.1%
BMW Sports Activity Vehicle Sales -55.1%
Lexus Automobile sales - 48%
Lexus Truck sales -19.5%
Mercedes Benz Sales -23.5%

Audi is doing great in Europe and Asia, thus only -11% worldwide.

Luxury car sales in Germany:

BMW -20.9% (31,005 total
MB - 28.4% (35.802 total)
Porsche -28.1 % (2,109 total)
Audi -0.3 %(32.919 total)

I'd say Audi looks pretty good right now, better than Lexus, BMW, or Mercedes Benz by far worldwide.

vplaza

For February 2009, Audi sold 2,202 A4s in the US. Interestingly, Pontiac sold 2,705 G8s in the same month.

Now, before I get roasted for bringing this up, I realize that not too many would cross-shop these cars. And I know that Pontiac was selling the G8 at prices ridiculously below invoice with tons of incentives, while similar deals would be nearly impossible to get for Audis.

Still, I thought this was interesting (well, I do have an A4 and a G8 after all).

charliemike71

That's so much better than a lot of other companies.

rbt

from an owner's perspective.

vplaza

(Sorry for the long post. Skip this if you don't care to hear an owner's review and comparison of a G8 vs Audis he's owned.)

First off, we've had three Audis in the family, starting with my 02 A4 1.8TQ Avant Manual with Sport Package, my 06 A3 2.0T Frontrak with DSG, and my wife's 06 A4 2.0TQ Tip with S-Line. So, we really do like our Audis.

That said, when the opportunity came to own a big, V8 powered, RWD sedan with very good handling, in a package that looks great, for $30K (and can now be bought for even less than that), I had to take it. And I have zero regrets.

The things that put a smile on my face every time I drive:

* The pleasure of power - with plenty of hp and torque on tap, I'm rarely ever wanting for more. From a stoplight, freeway onramp, down the dragstrip, wherever, it gets addictive. And very easy to modify with simple bolt-ons to get in the mid to low 13's.
* Very good handling for a car this size - While it won't outcorner our B7 S-Line, it would actually hang in there with my old A3 2.0T with non-sport suspension. Even so, it's no contest once we get out of the turn onto the straights. The G8 simply blows our other cars away.
* Surprisingly well built interior. Perhaps the thing that shocked me the most was that this car is so "un-American", and instead, so "Audi-like". Holden in Australia (where the car is built) has taken so manuy cues from Audi, it's almost funny. From the white/red gauges, to the red DIC in between the tach and speedo, to the headlight/foglight switchgear, to the way the HVAC controls have a pseud-MMI design, to the switchblade FOB, to the way the carpet snaps onto pegs on the floor, etc. No, it's not designed like an Audi, but it's familiar enough and the quality is close enough that I don't miss the interior of my A3, which already had a downgraded feel compared to our B7 interior.
* I love the fact that I don't see any other G8's on the road. I've always liked owning cars that were more on the unique/rare side than cars that were common. Since buying the car at the end of September last year, I've seen five G8's on the road (other than at the drag strip).

Now, the car is far from perfect. I can certainly see where this car would not hold the appeal to some people. There are numerous things that I can point to as potential deal killers for others. Things like:

* Fairly spartan when it comes to options/gadgets. There is no full-screen Navi option available. (You can get OnStar turn-by-turn direction via voice and on the DIC, which reminds me of the old navigation available with the earlier Audis.) No Homelink available, no memory seats, no rear reading lights, no light in the glove box, etc. If these are important to someone, then the G8 may disappoint.
* Subpar stereo. The Blaupunkt head unit is suprisingly bad. Now, I never had a Bose in my Audis, but the Concert and Symphony systems all sounded better than the system in the G8. Unfortunately, the head unit can't really be replaced because the HVAC controls/displays are integrated. The best way around it is to buy amps and new speakers, but the head unit will always be a weak point.
* Gas mileage - Well, it's a V8, so what can you expect, right? With my commute to work, I average between 20-22mpg per tank (I can probably get it higher if I didn't mash the gas as much and stick the cruise on 65). That's a bit lower than what I was getting with my A3, so if mileage is an important consideration, a big V8 shouldn't be in the picture at all.
* It's a GM car. Some people just will not own a GM car for one reason or another. And with GM in such a precarious state, why chance it.
* Reliability questions. Who knows how well these Holdens will hold up. That's why I got the GMPP Extended Warranty, just in case. And I do plan to keep the car for a long time.


In short, I look forward to my drive to work, at lunch, and home every day. I hope that my wife forgets to get something at the store so that I can make the 1 mile trip to the store. This car is just that much fun to drive for me. It really has brought the excitement back into driving for me.

Now, I also like driving our B7 S-Line. That thing handles great (the 06 S-Lines came with the sport suspension) and the interior is definitely a cut above the G8. But even with an APR chip, the car is no match for the G8 in a race. So, I enjoy a nice leisurely drive in the B7 on the weekends, but really enjoy a spirited drive in my G8 during the week.

Ideally, I would love to get an S5 or the new S4 Avant (if they brought it over). But at more than twice the price of a G8 GT, it would be hard to justify. Again, I have no regrets trading in my A3 for the G8 (though I do miss my paddle shifters and the DSG once in a while).

Just a quick edit. If you search the web, you will be hard pressed to find any negative reviews of the G8.

rbt

was that it was so under-tired from the factory. wider Summer meat would likely kick the gription factor up a notch.