I just ordered a 2011 A8 short wheelbase. The sales brochure indicates that the lower inlays are available in either piano black or brushed aluminum and that the swb model comes with aluminum standard while the lwb model comes with piano black standard. So I specify piano black for my lower inlay and first Audi comes back with a $1,200 special order fee, then a week later they change their minds and make it $3,600 (adding in the Audi Exclusive fee). The next day they tell me that the lower inlay in the swb and lwb are different sizes and so the swb comes with aluminum ONLY and the lwb comes with piano black ONLY. It took three weeks to figure this all out. Don't they know what they are building over there?

I just ordered a 2011 A8 short wheelbase. The sales brochure indicates that the lower inlays are available in either piano black or brushed aluminum and that the swb model comes with aluminum standard while the lwb model comes with piano black standard. So I specify piano black for my lower inlay and first Audi comes back with a $1,200 special order fee, then a week later they change their minds and make it $3,600 (adding in the Audi Exclusive fee). The next day they tell me that the lower inlay in the swb and lwb are different sizes and so the swb comes with aluminum ONLY and the lwb comes with piano black ONLY. It took three weeks to figure this all out. Don't they know what they are building over there?

Pretty sure the new (2-week old) U.S. A8 brochure does not show the lower dash inlays as swappable options---the A8 only available in brushed aluminum; the A8L only with the polished piano black. So, yes, you'd get "banged" pretty good going through Audi Exclusive. As far as being different sizes, I don't believe that one. As far as having launch communication problems, you bet there are....

1) The LWB demo fleet doesn't have the Extended Leather Package trimwork which is supposed to be standard for the A8L and an option for the NWB A8. However, there's no ability to order the Leather Pkg on the A8L (nothing in Order Guide, and the Audi ordering system doesn't allow you to add it).

I'm checking into that with AoA, but still no official answer, although someone did post that a customer-ordered A8L that he saw did have the Leather Package items on the car (as standard);

2)there's a discrpancy in the 20" tire sizes between what the U.S. brochure says and what's on the cars w/20's already in-country. Brochure states 255x35x20s, while the car w/20s I saw has 265x40x20 tires (same for cars provided to the press, and info TireRack is showing as EOM tire size)---also checking with AoA on this;

3)and now new news...no front fog lamps available for A8 or A8L. The new Order Guide that came out this week deleted the front fogs as a standard equipment item, with no option availability to add them. I do have an official answer on this one: Apparently there were technical approval problems on the fog lamps being integrated into the standard xenon headlight units; not even sure they were actually fogs, but something similar called "all-weather lamps". The "all-weather" lamps do, however, come with the LED headlights, and are supposed to reduce/eliminate your car's headlight glare on wet roads---and could work similarly to actual fog lights.

So yes, there are some launch communication problems right now.

Better wait for the 2012's if you want factory fog lights. This happene when the "New Beetle" was introduced in 1998. Fogs came out later. These types of cars don't look too good with aftermarket Hella or Cibie fog lights.