April

do you think it is the direction for Audi to take?

"AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Audi of America, Inc. has announced the appointment of Axel H. Mees to Vice President in charge of Audi of America in the United States and Canada, effective March 1, 2004.

He will be responsible for continuing Audi's task to firmly establish itself as a top-tier player in the North American luxury car market. Mr. Mees will report to Gerd Klauss, President and CEO of Volkswagen of America, Inc. and Volkswagen Canada.

Mees, 53, succeeds Len Hunt who assumes the position of Vice President in charge of the Volkswagen brand in the United States and Canada.

No stranger to luxury brands, Mees has worked for BMW for over 20 years, nearly half of which were spent in the United States. He held positions in Logistics, Overseas Assembly Operations, and the President's Office at BMW AG; Vice President and General Manager Central and Southern Regions, BMW North America, Inc.; President, BMW do Brazil Ltda. and LandRover do Brazil Ltda.; and Vice President, Merchandising and Accessories for all brands of the BMW Group.

"Axel's broad based automotive experience uniquely qualifies him to lead Audi as we prepare for an all-new range of products from Ingolstadt," said Klauss.

Prior to joining BMW AG, Axel Mees worked for A.T. Kearney in Duesseldorf, Germany.

He earned a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Technical University, Hannover, Germany and a Master's degree in International Business Administration from the American Graduate School of International Management, Phoenix, AZ. "

Audi AG

schnellmb

Maybe VAG is getting an "insider" to lift its market placement. I think Audi is in a niche market and may be losing that image by chasing others. I think people bought Audis because they were Audis, and not like other German cars. Thought....maybe VAG is going to do something with improving the sales/service experience.

Harbor A6

Maybe he can bring us up from the bottom!

no.radar

Lenny Hunt is GONE?!?! Shunted off to VW, eh? Doesn't sound like a promotion.

Potomac-Greg

I think Audis are better cars than the general public general thinks, but to car-wise buyers, it's pretty clear that Audi is not as devoted to building pure driver's cars as BMW is.

Maybe that's OK. Maybe there are more potential sales if you chase people trading up/over from Saabs, Passats and Volvos than trying to pull people out of BMWs and Mercedes. It depends on how you define "success." Obviously you need profitability, but you can do that with high volume or low volume.

To be taken seriously, Audi must:

1. Make coupes.
2. Make a sports car NOT based on a Beetle/Golf platform; and a premium sports car (a la BMW Z8).
3. Make a RWD car (or at least one w/ 50/50 balance).
4. Make really strong engines without turbos.
5. Vastly improve the dealership experience.

I think moving up is the only option. They can't fall back to high-volume, lower-price because they run smack into VW. There's a lot of room between Audi and Lambo!

Gerry

I think thats the single most significant engineering development that will need to occur for the majority of people looking for a "driver's car" to take it seriously.

Finman

1. Coupes are fine...but only small ones...big coupes like the CL-class are foolish, IMO.
2. Agree about the pure sports car, but don't agree about the mega-$$$ Z8-like car. The Z8 is gone...very quickly I might add...it sold ok, but by the time it's short run was done, it seemed much less impressive than originally thought. Not worth the effort, IMO.
3. I wouldn't bother with the RWD, but I would suggest a better weight balance and a rear-drive bias in the AWD system.
4. I think they already do this to some extent. Perhaps a larger V8, plus a V10 is in order. I'm not a big fan of turbos in general, but I really don't mind the little one I have on my little 4-cylinder GTI.
5. Yes, some dealers have already done this...some probably have regressed. The dealer here is great...but others really suck.

I wouldn't try to move the whole line-up too far upscale...it will result in a disaster similar to your prediction for the Phaeton. Audi needs to remain the "bargain" amongst MB and BMW until the reputation approaches them...of course they need to have a product that excites buyers enough to leave MB and BMW for a bit.

But really, I'm content with Audi being a distant 3rd behind MB and BMW in sales. I like having a relatively uncommon vehicle.

Zach, USM

1. A4 Coupes have been in the works for some time. Should be out in a year.
2. S4 is a sports car, RS6 is a sports car. The Lemans will be Audi's answer to the Z8.
3. No need to go RWD, quattro is what they're known for, stay focused. Dont need to be a jack of all trades. When people think AWD, they should think Audi.
4. 4.2 is a strong engine w/o turbos, 3.0 is also a great engine w/o turbos. The 3.2 in the new TT is a GREAT engine, very fun to drive.
5. Dealerships are based on people, some people suck, some people are great. No way to really standerdize this unless they pay Audi sales and management some kind of extra money to be even better/more qualified.

I think Audi missed the boat by not making an SUV 3 - 5 years ago. I know the Pike's Peak aka A7 will be out soon and that is their SUV but it's almost too late. By time it's released and tweaked...BMW, Mercedes, Lexus will have been doing it for well over 10 years. Audi will be playing catch up...YET again.

They need to advertise more for one and get some more aggresive leases out there just to increase market share. Some really low leases so they pump out some MAJOR units in the US and get flood the market a bit.

DWC_2.7T

Audi has achieved a great balance between price, style, luxury, and performance. We forget that the 5 series is much more expensive than the A6 and what's given to BMW in all out performance (which on today's roads jammed with apathetic SUV drivers on cell phones is mostly a source of frustration anyway) is more than made up for in style and elegance, not to mention vastly more comfort.

Audi drivers need to get past the undeserved inferiority complex over Beemers. Beemers break alot more often and cost even more to maintain. Niether Mercedes or Lexus built their reputations on performance, and if Audi goes hard for the performance market it will cease being Audi...or maybe just plain cease altogether.

The best thing this new guy could do would be to kick some dealer *** and make them recognize they're losing big time return business and word-of-mouth referrals because most treat owners of their $40+ products like a cash crop. The cars are superb.

The worst thing Audi could do is try to duel it out model by model with BMW to see who can make the most expensive car that can be blown away by a $30K Mitsubishi EVO or Subaru FX. The only BMW trait Audi need emulate is customer relations.

April

Why try to build a better BMW? That isn't what this guy can do - he's the rep for North American operations. Audis have always been a halfway mark between Mercedes and BMW when it comes to luxury and sportiness, while offering a better value than either.

So the dealers, supply, and model mix/option choices will be what the new guy oversees. Most important is to figure out a way to improve the dealer aspect. Both sales and service. That isn't going to be easy with fewer dollars coming in compared to some other brands and a sometimes apathetic dealer body, but that should really be his goal. That and some broad based advertising so that the name Audi means something to a wider audience of people, even if they aren't immediate buyers. You need to build pre-customer confidence. I don't know how many people I test drove even though they didn't have any intentions of buying just then. Sometimes it would be years before they returned or sent a friend who had heard about that test drive.