How Audi can save face on the new S4 (long)
09-18-2002, 10:06 AM
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How Audi can save face on the new S4 (long)
Audi has been doing a whole lot of following and very little leading as of late. And the new S4 is indicative of the anti-thesis of what Audi is supposed to be about.
The new S4 although it's not meant to be the M3's competitor that luxury being left to the RS4 performance wise leaves a lot to be desired in my opinion. Sure the new RS4 when it comes out will give the M3 a run for it's money, but the RS4 cost 65K-70K, at that price I will expect the RS4 to handily outperform the M3. This is why I maintain the S4 should be competitive with the M3, as it's price is more inline with M3. All that malarkey about Audi giving you more for your money is turning out to be an utter fallacy when you truly get down to the nitty gritty. So, here, is how I think Audi can save face, and keep me from shuffling over to BMW or MB. Maybe some of you might agree? Audi get the S4 Right before you bring that car over to the U.S.
1) 0-60, 4.8 sec (5.6 is not at all impressive, round up it's 6.0, not befitting the luxury sports sedan now, the old BMW E36 from 1994 is faster, an old S4 is just as fast, chipped is faster, so where is the upgrade, sure after 100mph or so new S4 should win, but at that point I'm usually hitting the breaks to avoid that state trooper, E46 M3 and MB C32 are a full second faster, .5 I could understand, 1 sec is unexceptable)
2) 370HP, 340 lb/ft (well this upgrade in hp and torque should take care of (1)), the E46 M3 and C32 AMG Benz are 2 years old, and respectively come with 333(343Euro) and 352HP respectively. Audi has had 2 years to know what they are up against and compensate, 344 completely unexceptable)
3) Flarered Fenders, Wider Body (This will make the new S4 stand out more and it still won't be gaudy)
4) Paint that stupid panel runner ( Who the hell, was getting ultra cheap, and not willing to paint the door runners to save a few extra dollars. I'm sure so idiot at the top said hey we've got to make the car a little cheaper what can we do, so the designers said ok, we'll not paint the runners that will save X amount of $$$'s. Um ... it looks really tacky and classless, and unacceptable what part of My generation is willing to pay for quality)
5) Air suspension (many think this would be a bit much, for a $50K car, I think not, the all road has it, and it's time to come up with some new selling points. Every Audi model should have this as an option at least. Quattro was something, and has been for 20 years, but 4 wheel drive is no longer novel, sorry Audi, time to give us something new)
6) The RS6 Tail Pipes (Hey they look cool, can I get some)
7) The RS6 Rear Bumper (Once again it looks cool, can I get some too)
8) MMI Technology (This should atleast be an option on every new Audi starting with the A8 and beyond including this new S4, BMW is making I-Drive standard on every car, all I'm asking for is atleast the option, I'd love to talk commands to my car, this is the wave of the future, this is what leading would be about, I give MB there props because in luxo option that they have you can't get on there lower models if your willing to pay for it, Audi doesn't give us that option)
9) LCD Navigation for U.S. ( My god man the whole universe has it, I mean I can get his feature in $25K Nissan Altmia, lawsuits be damned, this is sounding more like an excuse than a reason, European consumers no more, and expect more I'll no longer pay 1500+ for some damn arrows, us U.S. consumers need to command more)
10) A8 proximity key/fingerprint system (This should be atleast an option, it's time Audi got novel, sure they straight lifted this from MB who's been doing this sort of thing for several years, but my generation love's gadget's and once again this will make Audi stand out, bragging about Xenon lights is so 10 years ago, Altima's have them)
11) Rain Sensing Winshield Wipers (The jetta has them as an option, why can't I?)
12) Light Sensing Headlights (Once again, it's minor yet novel, I like seeing those lights automatically come on when going in a dark tunnel or as the sun sets, can we atleast get the option)
Ok, so here it is my expectation list. Sure the feature list hasn't been announced for the S4 yet, but I'm already preparing for mre disappointment, it's becoming the norm. The above feature list and available options is what would have satisfied me as a consumer, this is what would make me have said Wow, on the new S4, Instead of questioning my support for Audi.
Some might think that maybe this is what the RS4 should be, and I'm thinking I'd want so much more for the RS4, like 420HP, v8tt, etc ... I expect that from a $65K-$70K car. I think the above list is very reasonable for $50K car. Audi being the price performance king is highly suspect right now, they did a great job with B5 A4/S4, they came into the game gunning, now they are simply disappointing. I expected the new S4 to hang with current model BMW M3's and MB AMG C32, and for the new B6 RS4 to annihilate the competition, but as I can see Audi is slowly moving in the direction of being the Anti-thesis of what it stands for, the slogan should be changed and quick too ... "Always follow, never lead)!
The new S4 although it's not meant to be the M3's competitor that luxury being left to the RS4 performance wise leaves a lot to be desired in my opinion. Sure the new RS4 when it comes out will give the M3 a run for it's money, but the RS4 cost 65K-70K, at that price I will expect the RS4 to handily outperform the M3. This is why I maintain the S4 should be competitive with the M3, as it's price is more inline with M3. All that malarkey about Audi giving you more for your money is turning out to be an utter fallacy when you truly get down to the nitty gritty. So, here, is how I think Audi can save face, and keep me from shuffling over to BMW or MB. Maybe some of you might agree? Audi get the S4 Right before you bring that car over to the U.S.
1) 0-60, 4.8 sec (5.6 is not at all impressive, round up it's 6.0, not befitting the luxury sports sedan now, the old BMW E36 from 1994 is faster, an old S4 is just as fast, chipped is faster, so where is the upgrade, sure after 100mph or so new S4 should win, but at that point I'm usually hitting the breaks to avoid that state trooper, E46 M3 and MB C32 are a full second faster, .5 I could understand, 1 sec is unexceptable)
2) 370HP, 340 lb/ft (well this upgrade in hp and torque should take care of (1)), the E46 M3 and C32 AMG Benz are 2 years old, and respectively come with 333(343Euro) and 352HP respectively. Audi has had 2 years to know what they are up against and compensate, 344 completely unexceptable)
3) Flarered Fenders, Wider Body (This will make the new S4 stand out more and it still won't be gaudy)
4) Paint that stupid panel runner ( Who the hell, was getting ultra cheap, and not willing to paint the door runners to save a few extra dollars. I'm sure so idiot at the top said hey we've got to make the car a little cheaper what can we do, so the designers said ok, we'll not paint the runners that will save X amount of $$$'s. Um ... it looks really tacky and classless, and unacceptable what part of My generation is willing to pay for quality)
5) Air suspension (many think this would be a bit much, for a $50K car, I think not, the all road has it, and it's time to come up with some new selling points. Every Audi model should have this as an option at least. Quattro was something, and has been for 20 years, but 4 wheel drive is no longer novel, sorry Audi, time to give us something new)
6) The RS6 Tail Pipes (Hey they look cool, can I get some)
7) The RS6 Rear Bumper (Once again it looks cool, can I get some too)
8) MMI Technology (This should atleast be an option on every new Audi starting with the A8 and beyond including this new S4, BMW is making I-Drive standard on every car, all I'm asking for is atleast the option, I'd love to talk commands to my car, this is the wave of the future, this is what leading would be about, I give MB there props because in luxo option that they have you can't get on there lower models if your willing to pay for it, Audi doesn't give us that option)
9) LCD Navigation for U.S. ( My god man the whole universe has it, I mean I can get his feature in $25K Nissan Altmia, lawsuits be damned, this is sounding more like an excuse than a reason, European consumers no more, and expect more I'll no longer pay 1500+ for some damn arrows, us U.S. consumers need to command more)
10) A8 proximity key/fingerprint system (This should be atleast an option, it's time Audi got novel, sure they straight lifted this from MB who's been doing this sort of thing for several years, but my generation love's gadget's and once again this will make Audi stand out, bragging about Xenon lights is so 10 years ago, Altima's have them)
11) Rain Sensing Winshield Wipers (The jetta has them as an option, why can't I?)
12) Light Sensing Headlights (Once again, it's minor yet novel, I like seeing those lights automatically come on when going in a dark tunnel or as the sun sets, can we atleast get the option)
Ok, so here it is my expectation list. Sure the feature list hasn't been announced for the S4 yet, but I'm already preparing for mre disappointment, it's becoming the norm. The above feature list and available options is what would have satisfied me as a consumer, this is what would make me have said Wow, on the new S4, Instead of questioning my support for Audi.
Some might think that maybe this is what the RS4 should be, and I'm thinking I'd want so much more for the RS4, like 420HP, v8tt, etc ... I expect that from a $65K-$70K car. I think the above list is very reasonable for $50K car. Audi being the price performance king is highly suspect right now, they did a great job with B5 A4/S4, they came into the game gunning, now they are simply disappointing. I expected the new S4 to hang with current model BMW M3's and MB AMG C32, and for the new B6 RS4 to annihilate the competition, but as I can see Audi is slowly moving in the direction of being the Anti-thesis of what it stands for, the slogan should be changed and quick too ... "Always follow, never lead)!
09-18-2002, 10:10 AM
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WELL PUT. I'd agree.somebody should make some shirts that say (never follow? nah always underperform
that is my bashing for the day.
I'll go happily drive my b5 b/c it ROCKS!
I'll go happily drive my b5 b/c it ROCKS!
09-18-2002, 10:17 AM
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Audi doesn't need to do crap as long as somehow they can beat the current M3, they're happy.
I think that most forum members here have chipped cars and will not be impressed with the hp numbers because we are close if not higher than the stock B6 if in fact it is 344hp.
My guess is that Audi will sell more B6 S4s than the current one because most car buyers are not fanatical as we are and really don't mod their $50K car. I don't think most auto magazines will say that they are disapointed with the B6 S4 in the powerplant department since the current one has 250-260hp. In all honesty the B6 A4 looks great. I like you and others had wishful thinking that it would be a B6 RS4 type rather than a B6 S4.
My guess is that Audi will sell more B6 S4s than the current one because most car buyers are not fanatical as we are and really don't mod their $50K car. I don't think most auto magazines will say that they are disapointed with the B6 S4 in the powerplant department since the current one has 250-260hp. In all honesty the B6 A4 looks great. I like you and others had wishful thinking that it would be a B6 RS4 type rather than a B6 S4.
09-18-2002, 10:20 AM
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It comes down to either more horsepower, or a lower MSRP. Most people(IMHO)...
are basically objecting to what the B6 is for the money. (Yes, I know most here would gladly pay the B6 asking price if it DID have 370hp. I know I would.)
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09-18-2002, 10:22 AM
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YES YES YES!!!!!!!!!
I would love all of us to print this out and mail/fax this to Audi!! WTF! They had great market research here at Audiworld, 2 years to come up with a M3 killer and a whole new platform in which to do it! It is sad! So much for never Following!!
