markcincinnati

. . .an A4 Sline; Presige; any version of any sport package (other than my own.)

Never seen any A4 with sat nav (again, other than my own); ditto ADS, ACC or even rear power sunscreen (again no Prestige's, so that is not too far out.)

Lots of stripped Prem+'s with the fugly wheels.

Rarely see an A4 (B8) on the road or in a parking lot.

See plenty of A6's, quite a few A8's and a decent amount of A3's.

Our big town (or little city, if you like) has two Audi dealerships, both stand alones, too.

My dealer says they sell about 500-600+ new Audis per year.

They must all be Q7's cause they're everywhere.

Don't get me wrong, I like the exclusivity within limits -- but you can throw a rock and have a hard time missing a 3 series (we also have 2 Bimmer dealers.)

My issue, or better said, my conern, is the lack of popularity, especially of what I have come to believe are the most desirable versions of the A4 (on the showroom especially); makes me wonder if the high zoot models will not continue to have more of the fun and performance and lux options some folks still will opt for.

My dealer mgr said he deliberately stocks up on loaded A6's and keeps a totally stripped A6 3.0T on the showroom floor.

He claims, and I believe him, folks come in for the low priced A6 that they see and that is advertised and then, funny thing happens, the prospective customer "up sells" him/her self on the high content version that is out back in every imaginable color combo.

Buy one "stripped" A6 (which will have to be discounted seriously or put into the service loaner fleet) and it will sell a dozen or more high content A6's. Also on the show room floor is a Premium model with a set of sexy (non Audi) wheels, but little else (well maybe bluetooth) -- but the thing is, there are no Prestige models to "switch" the prospect too.

Is this an indication that A4 buyers are NOT looking for high content versions?

I don't get it. My 09 A4 is loaded and it (other than the lack of heated rear seats) seems like it is so much more car than my all equipped 2005 A6 3.2.

The A4 is for a less lux oriented market is my only conclusion -- but then I wonder, what if they actually had a Prestige ADS 19" sport or Sline equipped version available for test driving?

The CTS's up the street all seem to be loaded to the gills with EVERYTHING on the Cadillac option sheet and they are priced pretty much in line with my A4 (~$49K).

Mobilehavoc

Speak for yourself. I don't find the P+ wheels fugly at all...if I did, I wouldn't have bought one.

Zendriver

You bring up a good point, Mark. I noticed at Audi Connection, the only A4 on the showroom floor was the baseline, FWD model, sans LED lights. Even the three test A4s I drove didn't come equipped with the NAV package - I had to check that out in an A5.

Like you, I see loads of BMW 3s on my daily commute up and down 75. I have seen exactly one B8 without the dealer test drive plate - not sure what trim, but it was a white one with the LED DRLs. I've seen several new A6s with the LEDs, and quite a few Q7s.

Is it because the A4 has traditionally been their best seller? I do see a lot of older A4s, B6s and B7s mostly. But for a car that's been out for nearly a year (over a year?) there are very few B8s on the road in our area. In some ways this makes me happy, because I know I'm driving something that isn't a dime a dozen. But I heard the same thing from the dealership, and it makes me wonder "if they've moved that many cars, where are they at?" Surely more than the one I've seen was sold in a mid-to-upscale trim. Despite my love for a fairly unique car, I hope we see more B8s in P+ and Prestige in our area by 2010.

Zendriver

EDIT: Third section of above post should have started "Do they keep a base-featured model on the showroom floor because the A4 has traditionally been their best seller anyway?"

JasonR-NYC

Audi Financial's lease residuals are now tied to the trim level of the car. I believe this is new for Audi. They certainly didn't do anything like that when I leased my 2006 A4, and for 2009 it made the lease cost on a Prestige car unattractive. In my case, that lead me to finance the car instead.

I'm sure many customers leasing a car would be difficult to up-sell from one trim level to the next given the residual drop at each level. The old "you're only paying for half of that option" argument doesn't really fly anymore.

I enjoy having a less common car. I've caught drivers of MUCH more exotic cars gawking at me on the highway, including an R8 driver who got a big thumbs up from me.

- Jason

snagitseven

Let's keep in mind the B8 has been out for only about 8 months (U.S.) and the current 3 series design, more or less, has been out for for quite a bit longer. Couple that with the economy hitting the crapper right after the B8 was introduced and it's no surprise that not too many are yet visible on the road. I do see lots of B6/B7's around

While the 3 series outsold any of the previous A4's, it's too early to see how the B8 sales will eventually compare to the 3 series over time. I suspect BMW will still sell more 3's than B8's here in the U.S. but the question remains if the gap will get smaller.

As for A6 vs A4 trims, the A6 buyer is likely an older demographic with higher income. It's really no surprise that this group is more susceptible to higher feature content/trim than the A4 buyer who is very likely to be younger and less affluent. This would result in many of these buyers to be stretching to an A4 class car and less disposed to loading them up. Of course, these are generalities and there are plenty of exceptions who have the resources but want the sportier choice this time around and wanted to load 'em up (like me).

kerrydel1

I'll claim ignorance here, but what about the 'sold order only' issue that at one time, if not still, applied to ADS, Nav, etc....? Could this be why dealers don't have the Prestige?

I haven't seen any other B8 A4's in my area, and only 1 or 2 A5/S5's.

Kerry - loving my Prestige Avant

Kevin Maloney

I have a loaded Prestige w/ 19" sport package, and I like to tell people that it is my $45k 4 cylinder stick. I suspect that many potential purchasers have trouble spending so much on a 4 cylinder car due to the traditional image of that configuration.