Originally Posted by Ohji

Plus, Audi doesn't want to cannibalize the sales of its other models, so it leaves premium options like the air suspension and comfort seats out to entice people towards the A8, and it leaves out the active rear differential and DSG to lure buyers to the future S7.

Originally Posted by Ohji

I think part of the reason too is simple marketing. Due to a variety of reasons, vehicle prices here in the US are much lower than in Europe/Australia/China etc and so cars like the A7 are available to a larger audience than in some other countries. Since the market here is so competitive, Audi likely wants to offer cars at an attractive base price to stand out against established rivals like MB and BMW. Limiting options limits the maximum price of the car and lets reviews say things like "a fully optioned A7 comes in $10k cheaper than a loaded CLS." Plus, Audi doesn't want to cannibalize the sales of its other models, so it leaves premium options like the air suspension and comfort seats out to entice people towards the A8, and it leaves out the active rear differential and DSG to lure buyers to the future S7. Nowadays, you also sometimes need extra perks to entice some people to go for the less fuel efficient, higher-performing models, even in the upper end of the luxury segment...

I'm sure there is a whole army of Audi marketing experts and actuaries who have analyzed US buying preferences and have figured out how to position their products to extract the most money from US car buyers. I too wish we had more options here, but I'll settle for what we were given. I was initially bummed about not having more customizable seats and no air suspension, but after reading all the problems some people have had with the AIRMATIC suspension on the CLS, I realized that sometimes less is more...

Originally Posted by gb4.2

First, if a fully optioned Audi vs. a fully optioned BWW or MB isn't equally equipped, what good is it to write or say "it's $10K cheaper"? Yes, it's a simplistic review statement that's too often misused but I prefer accuracy in these types of statements and always fact-check them!

Second, isn't it about time that Audi NOT focus so much on undercutting price and, instead, focus on the product and its quality, design, and engineering? I know they want to increase sales volume in the U.S. but limiting option availability to "entice" customers to spend upwards of $20-30K to move up to an A8/A8L is a bit of a stretch. Is it worth losing any sales of truly loaded A7's in the U.S.?