Hey All,

Since the AudiWorld review was a trifle misinformed this time (Sorry AudiWorld writer Joe Wong, but the A4 and A6 don't have the same interiors), I thought I'd give my own photo-filled review of Audi and VW group's presence at the Left Coast auto show...

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/22060/newa4avant_blue_03.jpg">

Audi occupied the same space as last year's show, with only the popular MMI demo booth being sadly absent. The new cars on the other hand, were a pleasant surprise. Their model lineup is now the most unified and attractive it has ever been in the company's history. Audi has finally found focus with its branding, this due in no small part to its new front-end design. The new grill, no-where to be found at last year's show, now graces the majority of their cars. And rest assured, it looks fantastic on every model. It actually looks quite small when compared to the press photos. Sloping forward as it reaches downward, the grills finally give Audi the long-overdue aggressiveness it so badly needed. Most impressive is how the new design language, embodied by the completely new A6, keeps its clear, simple lines.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/22060/newa6_orange_01.jpg"">


I stayed around to eavesdrop on people's reactions to Audi's new face. The response has been unanimously positive, only rivaled by people's praise for Audi's interior material quality.

This was the first time the American public was given a personal look at the new B7 A4 Sedan, Avant, and S4. The A4 was surprisingly uniform looking for a drastically face-lifted car. Although not as homogenous as the A6's lines, the B7 A4 still looks great, if not menacing. Seeing the more sedate looking B6 A4 (the previous gen) immediately before and after the show, it became obvious that the updated design is a clear improvement, empowering the design with force and distinction.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/22060/newa4avant_blue_02.jpg"">

The A4's tail-lights also improve over the previous model's more blocky housings, with the S4 getting an integrated spoiler molded as part of the hood.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/22060/newa4_silver_02.jpg"">

The A4's carry-over interior, although no-where as refined and driver-oriented as the A6's, still holds up nicely after 3 years. With a new DVD Nav and a redesigned parking break area to accommodate American-sized cup holders, the A4s interior quality still bests its German rivals in the same class.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/22060/newa4_silver_03.jpg"">

The A8 W12 pretty much blew everyone away, with most reactions being "That thing is HUGE!" The individual rear sport seats with center media console also had onlookers gawking and gushing.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/22060/newa8lw12_grey_01.jpg"">

Perhaps the most popular model was the new A3 Sportback. Curiously, the foglights were moved away from the lower corners, giving the outer grill shape less design motivation. With a price point of under $30K, the A3 may become Audi's biggest seller, beating even the hot new A4.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/22060/newa3_orange_01.jpg"">

Overall, Audi held its own as one of the most attractive fleets in the entire convention. Rival BMW looked almost as good, marred only by its clumsily designed 7 series and aging 3 series (the new 3 debuts soon).

The sweetest single Audi surprise goes to the new A4's headlights. Although unsure when seen in the press photos, I found that the new lights looked sensational in person. With recent Auto design focusing heavily on inventive headlight design, the new A4 now feels fresh again.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/22060/newa4avant_blue_01.jpg"">

Another happy surprise was VW'a new Jetta. Like the A4, it looks great in person; although it still can't match Audi's muscular and balanced proportions.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/22060/newjetta_01.jpg"">

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/22060/newjetta_02.jpg"">

Other standouts included the new Chrysler 300, A gorgeous bargain priced American muscle car (lines courtesy of an ex-Audi designer) and Mercedes Benz' new SLK.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/22060/300_white_01.jpg"">

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/22060/benz_01.jpg"">

With Audi's Lamborghini division and VW's Bently drawing huge crowds, it's become clear that the etire VW brand is a powerful and expanding force in automotive business.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/22060/lambo_01.jpg"">


<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/22060/bentlycabrio_01.jpg"">

All for now.

Maybe my next company car =).

Good review and great photos. Any chance you can identify which car is in each picture? With the new nose on every model, it is harder to tell.

Facts:

- Practically everyone at the show loved the new grill.
- The new A6 is outselling the old A6 3 to 2.
- The new look is a hit. Period.

If you can't handle progress, I suggest you go complain somewhere else. This forum is for forward thinking drivers.

1. <b> "Practically everyone at the show loved the new grill" </b>...because you spent exactly HOW LONG at the show....and you nevAr left the Audi area...and you talked to WHAT single-digit percentage of people who LOOKED at the car (including the group who just laughed, kept walking and never bothered to look any more closely at what they consider a hideously out-sized 'mouth")?

2. <b> "The new A6 is outselling the old A6 3-to-2." </b> Might you have a SOURCE for such numbers? Over what period? I expect they're pure b.s driven by somebody's DESPERATE need to believe this design is not a major disappointment.

3. <b> "The new look is a hit." </b> Sure thing, doofus. Keep repeating it; I'm SURE it'll come true.

(It's a C5, anim2or, not a B6.)

I've seen the A3 Sportback and A6 in person. And only have seen the new A4 in pictures. To me, the A3 grill looks great because there is some much less overhang up front than on the A4 and A6. (Obviously the transverse engine helps this). On the A6 and A4, the large grill just accentuates the already long overhang and makes the car look noseheavy. Since the new grille forces the grille forward to be in line with where the bumper used to be, this only makes things worse.

Still like the looks overall.

Tom

...I would have *never* bought a C5 A6.

Just try and explain excactly what the purpose is, because I just don't get it..?!

If you just posting because you like having a high post count here on audiworld I think you should consider finding another forum or getting another hobby.

I personally find it very annoying that you spam just about every post where you can figure out a negative comment. I believe most people use this forum to exchange experiences etc. with other C6 owners, and you negative inputs don't belong in this.

Note taken: You don't like the C6! I think we all get the picture, so now go play somewhere else...

1. The appearance of the C6 bothers me. I find it unattractive from nearly every angle, including most interior aspects. Whether you or anyone else agreees with that point of view has no meaning whatever for me.

2. The existence of the C6 is not simply a matter of interest for those who own them, or for those who like them. As a long-time Audi afficiando, to have what I consider a particularly unattractive model of the same make appearing on streets here offends me. People who know my predisposition for this brand--some of whom have bought Audis on my recommendation--rightly ask, "So, what do you think of that new Audi with the big nose?" Should I tell them I like it? I LOVE it? It's freakin' beautiful? NFW

3. Do I expect Audi to pull the car in response to my personal opinion? Of course not (although don't be too surprised if the fish-mouth era is shorter than you expect). By the same token, should Audi (or anyone else, including yourself or anim2or) expect me to keep my opinions on this to myself? Good luck. See.... AudiWorld® is a place for people who have an affinity for Audis in general, but in no way is it required that we all rave about all Audis. Deal with it.

4. A more astute forum reader than yourself will have long ago noted that I do not routinely "attack" others here. Having said that, I am inclined to a measure of cynicism, jocularity and smartassedness, maybe because I spent too much time in AWOT awhile back. Consider these my personal weaknesses (akin to your grasp of English). No big deal either way. You needn't like me. You needn't read any of what I post. It's... okay.

5. Having invested more time on this post by far than your whining merits, I think I'll pretty much ignore you from here on.

My wife was peeved when the year after she got her 2001 A6 the new A4 came out and it was hard to tell which was which. I wonder if the same thing will happen now. Yes, it may snob appeal but that is part of the decision when buying a car. I know of one guy who sold his Porsche Carrera when it was taken for a Boxster.

Q:" It's a C5, anim2or, not a B6."

A: My mistake. I thought you were a different person who drives a modded B6 A4. He has similar forum habits. Checking your sig, I realize that I'm mistaken. (BTW, it's Anim8or, not Anim2or).

Q: "Might you have a SOURCE for such numbers? Over what period? I expect they're pure b.s driven by somebody's DESPERATE need to believe this design is not a major disappointment."

A: My sources are The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg; both of which I subscribe to (I'm a business owner). The 3 to 2 sales figure is my conservative assessment based on Audi AG's monthly and quarterly European sales figures (many figures actually return higher relative numbers in the area of 3 to 1 and 4 to 1, C6 vs C5). NA sales breakdowns have not yet singled out the C6 from the C5, so I can't comment on America; although the C6 A6 pre-orders are maxed out here in L.A according to fleet managers at Keys Audi and Beverly Hills Audi. A sales manager here in Santa Monica recently told me "good luck getting any A6 per your specs off the lot, you're gonna need to special order due to the higher-than expected demand". Here's a recent quote from Bloomberg about European sales in November:

"-``Incentives have helped and the market is getting a bit better,'' said Lars Ziehn, an analyst at WestLB, which oversees about $53 billion in assets. ``Volkswagen was the winner last month with Audi A6 and Touareg sales contributing to the increase."

End-of-month A6 sales have been amongst the best in the company's history. The new A6 has taken off in a similar way as the TT did, particularly in England.

Figures are published on the paper more so than the web, so I suggest you pick up these business dailies to see the data for yourself.

Q: "...because you spent exactly HOW LONG at the show....and you nevAr left the Audi area..."

A: I actually spent about 3 hours at the Audi booth talking to onlookers, sales reps, and several friends who work at Audi. We sat in the new A6 asking people about the car. Surprisingly, the grill is overall a non-issue. People just think it looks cool. This may not be a valid statistical sample, but it was clear to me and the Audi guys that the C6 was the second-best received car on the floor that day. The first was the A8 W12, followed by the new A6, the new A3, the new A4/S4, the A4/S4 Cabriolet and finally the TT. Only the aging Allroad had a lukewarm response from the public.

To sum up my point of view: Although I agree that the C5 A6 was a fine car for its time, the new A6 is vastly superior, with a much more focused and refined design. Its body uses less lines to express a stronger shape; essentially the mark of great auto design. Its interior is far, far more ergonomic, attractive, and luxurious to the previous gen (I drove the C6 for an hour after having a C5 loaner for a week). The new A6 is arguably the greatest design statement Audi has put forth since the TT. It's also the most sophisticated car mechanically and technologically in their history thus far.

Kudos once again to Audi. The A6 is a hit. Period.

Damn, I just lost 10 minutes writing this. I'm back to work and off this forum for a week.

Laters.

<a href="http://forums.audiworld.com/a6/msgs/270348.phtml">no.radar's self-fulfilling prophecy</a>

To Quote:

<b>Question: When the next generation A6 arrives, will there be a "New A6 Forum" here at AudiWorld?

....Will we enviously troll the "New Generation A6 Forum" like so many oRaNGEmARLins making rude comments, unsupported anti-Audi posts and generally displaying the cyberspace equivalent of bad breath and flatulence just to try to get SOMEBODY'S attention?</b>

Pretty funny actually.

(Nicely done, sir.)