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Audi Takes an Advertising Pot Shot at BMW in Australia

Agent009 submitted on 06/21/2007 Official AutoSpies Timestamp: 9:37 AM
from: www.autospies.com

[29] user comments | category: Misc News

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Audi Takes an Advertising Pot Shot at BMW in Australia

Remember BMW Australia's boss recent statement that he didn't consider Audi a premium brand, because Audi didn't offer rear-wheel drive?

Well Audi decided to fight back in typical hilarious fashion. This great ad below that started running this week

Greetings to BMW! Don't you love these egocentric skirmishes?

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Htay7500 - 6/21/2007 9:56:09 AM

+1 Boost

ok..... theyre getting outta hand for some reason

reply to this comment

Agent009 - 6/21/2007 10:07:28 AMView My AgentSpace

+6 Boost

They do this a lot all over the globe.

MercBasher - 6/21/2007 10:12:59 PM

-1 Boost

This is typical bad Audi marketing, why is Audi so f***ing hopeless?

How many Australians have to drive through snow and ice?

IamEvilHomer - 6/21/2007 11:27:35 PM

+3 Boost

i love these quotes
"Managing director Joerg Hofmann used last week’s launch of the new S3 and TT Roadster to emphasise the fact Audi was easily the nation’s fastest-growing premium brand and to suggest BMW was already discounting its freshly redesigned, volume-selling 3 Series.

"Every manufacturer is reacting to us in different ways – smarter and less smart ways," said Mr Hofmann.

"We are confident and proud of what we are doing. We are relaxed because we know we have a great future ahead of us. But we are never ever arrogant. If you ask ‘what is the difference between Audi and some other brands?’- this is a big difference.

"I don’t want to comment about specific companies. (But) whatever we communicate is based on fact and the fact is that Audi is by far the fastest growing premium brand in Australia," he said.

Audi has recorded an outstanding 41 per cent growth in sales in the first five months of this year – 10 times more than BMW’s 4.1 per cent increase, which of course comes off a sales base that is about double that of Audi. Just ahead of Audi for vehicle sales, Lexus has also robbed market share from BMW this year and its 16 per cent up on its 2006 sales."

iown1 - 6/21/2007 11:24:55 AM

+3 Boost

It's funny. For years people on here have been saying that AUDI needed to point out what seperates them from their competition. They're doing just that. The EVERYDAY advantages of all wheel drive can't be denied. It might minimally dull preformance but how much preformance do you need to go to work? As far as getting out of hand, I disagree. It's really no different than BMW's "We have no one to answer to" campaign.

reply to this comment

BimmerFan - 6/21/2007 2:16:05 PM

0 Boost

...like we need quattro every day...LOL. Oh yes, I drive over and through glaciers, uphill both ways, every day to work. Quattro zaps the fun for the little advantage it has, on very few occasions, depending on ones location in the world. If I lived in Antarctica, I might choose a quattro...for everywhere else in the world...the RWD BMW, please.

iown1 - 6/21/2007 3:14:27 PM

+4 Boost

Like I said... EVERYDAY use. I don't know if you live in the desert where the climate is always dry but where I live not only does it snow but it rains also. I've already acknowledged that RWD is superior for "feel". What I can't figure out is why people are so down on all wheel drive. It's proved itself on the race track time and time again. As a matter of fact, if BMW didn't sell AWD vehicles they wouldn't be the #1 luxury car manufacturer. If I had to make an educated guess I'd say probably 20% of there sales are from AWD not including the X5(AWD) and the X3(AWD). So dude best I can say is if BMW is building AWD cars there must be something to the system.

truecarlover - 6/21/2007 7:19:06 PM

+3 Boost

You are correct "iown1". In the real world AWD is an asset. The only real-world downside is that it's heft and drivetrain friction reduce fuel economy. Other than that - it makes any driver more stable and sure-footed. RWD may be more "fun" in tight corners - but day to day that doesn't mean anything. Plus most of the people who complain about it probably have a 4WD SUV in their household as well.
Btw- Bimmermike - RWD does not necessarily mean better at the track...Audi's quattro cars were banned from many different leagues because they were too dominant and deemed an "unfair advantage". It's true - you can look it up.

truecarlover - 6/21/2007 9:18:19 PM

+1 Boost

Bimmermike - I respect you that you didn't get defensive like many on this site. I knew that because my family had Audi's and the company would send literature. Here is an excerpt from an article and the link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi

Audi has competed in numerous forms of auto racing. Audi's rich tradition in motorsport began with the Auto Union in the 1930s. In the 1990s Audi dominated the Touring and Super Touring categories of motor racing after success in circuit racing Stateside.

[edit] Rallying

Audi R10In 1980 Audi released the Quattro, an all wheel drive turbocharged car that went on to win rallies and races worldwide. It is considered one of the most significant rally cars of all time because it was one of the first to take advantage of the then-recently changed rules which allowed the use of all-wheel-drive in competition racing. Many critics doubted the viability of all-wheel-drive racers, thinking them to be too heavy and complex, yet the Quattro was to become a successful car. Leading its first rally it went off the road, however the rally world had been served notice AWD was the future. It won competition after competition for the next two years.[citation needed]

In 1984 Audi launched the short-wheelbase Sport Quattro car which dominated races in Monte Carlo and Sweden with Audi taking all podium finishes but succumbed to problems further into World Rally Championship contention. After another season mired in mediocre finishes, Walter Röhrl finished the season in his Sport Quattro S1 and helped place Audi second in the manufacturer's points. Audi also received rally honors in the Hong Kong to Beijing rally in that same year. Michèle Mouton, the first female WRC driver to win a round of the World Rally Championship and a driver for Audi, took the Sport Quattro S1, now simply called the S1 and raced in the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. The climb race pits a driver and car to drive up a 4,302 meter high mountain in Colorado and in 1985, Michèle Mouton set a new record of 11:25.39 and being the first woman to set a Pikes Peak record. In 1986, Audi formally left international rally racing following an accident in Portugal involving driver Joaquim Santos in his Ford RS200. Santos swerved to avoid hitting spectators in the road, and left the track into the crowd of spectators on the side, killing three and injuring 30. Bobby Unser used an Audi in that same year to claim a new record for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb at 11:09.22.

[edit] Motorsports in the USA
In 1987, Walter Röhrl claimed the title for Audi setting a new Pikes Peak record of 10:47.85 in his Audi S1 which he retired from the WRC two years earlier. The Audi S1 employed Audi's time-tested 5-cylinder turbo charged engine and generated over 600 hp (447 kW). The engine was mated to a 6-speed gearbox and ran on Audi's famous all-wheel drive system. All of Audi's top drivers drove this beast, Hannu Mikkola, Stig Blomqvist, Walter Röhrl and the female driver, M

truecarlover - 6/21/2007 9:22:54 PM

+1 Boost

Sorry part got cut off from the last one.

In 1987, Walter Röhrl claimed the title for Audi setting a new Pikes Peak record of 10:47.85 in his Audi S1 which he retired from the WRC two years earlier. The Audi S1 employed Audi's time-tested 5-cylinder turbo charged engine and generated over 600 hp (447 kW). The engine was mated to a 6-speed gearbox and ran on Audi's famous all-wheel drive system. All of Audi's top drivers drove this beast, Hannu Mikkola, Stig Blomqvist, Walter Röhrl and the female driver, Michèle Mouton. The Audi S1 enjoys a 0-60 mph (0-100 km/h) time of 2.3 s. This Audi S1 started the S-series of cars for Audi which now represents an increased level of sports options and quality in the Audi line-up.

As Audi moved away from rallying and into circuit racing, they chose to move first into America with the Trans-Am in 1988.

In 1989, Audi moved to IMSA GTO with the 90, however as they avoided the two major endurance events (Daytona and Sebring) despite winning on a regular basis, they would lose out on the title.

[edit] Touring cars
In 1990, having completed their objective to market cars in the United States, Audi returned to Europe turning first to the DTM series with the Audi V8, then in 1993, being unwilling to build cars for the new formula, they turned their attention to the fast growing Supertouring series, which took place nationally, first in the French Supertourisme and Italian Superturismo. In the following year, Audi would switched to the German Super Tourenwagen (known as STW) and then to BTCC (British Touring Car Championship) the year after that.

The FIA, having difficulty regulating the Quattro system and what impact it had on the competitors, would eventually ban all four wheel drive cars from competiting in 1998, by then Audi switched all their works efforts to sports car racing.

By 2000, Audi would still compete in the US with their RS4 for the SCCA Speed World GT Challenge, through dealer/team Champion Racing competing against Corvettes, Vipers, and smaller BMWs (where it is one of the few series to permit 4WD cars). In 2003, Champion Racing entered an RS6. Once again, the Quattro was superior and Champion Audi won the championship. They returned in 2004 to defend their title but a newcomer, Cadillac with the new Omega Chassis CTS-V, gave them a run for their money. After four victories in a row, the Audis were sanctioned with several negative changes that deeply affected the car's performance. Namely, added ballasts and Champion Audi deciding to go with different tires and backing off the turbos boost pressure.

AUTO_UNION - 6/21/2007 12:25:21 PM

+4 Boost

HAHA!! I find it pretty funny.
I would like to say one more thing about this whole thing. BMW considares RWD to be crucial in making a brand premium. But Audi has different philosophy. FWD driven Audis are more of luxury cruisers. AWD Audis are sports cars! So you have two types of Audis for two types of people.

reply to this comment

S4cabriofoxone - 6/21/2007 12:56:38 PMView My AgentSpace

+3 Boost

Yes, why would everybody have to be like BMW? RWD isn't the only answer. Look at Lamborghini. Ferrari still considers them competition!

Neverfollow - 6/21/2007 9:28:41 PM

+4 Boost

How many performance cars use some type of AWD system anyway...........Lamborghini, Porsche, Bugatti. There must be a performance benefit otherwise these distinguished marques would not waste the engineering dollars by incorporating it into their designs.

truecarlover - 6/21/2007 7:23:19 PM

+4 Boost

Your statement about the track is not necessarily true. Audi dominated SCCA with AWD cars. Not to mention their dominance in rally races (but that's not a "track" per se).

reply to this comment

SevorbeupstryIsBack - 6/21/2007 3:40:18 PM

+1 Boost

What a tosser. Jeezes..

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Will_ - 6/21/2007 4:40:23 PM

-3 Boost

What kind of Audi is that? Is that an Allroad or an A6 Avant?

This ad really doesn't do much. The Audi and all-wheel drive faithful will get a kick out of this, but a BMW fan will look at this and it will just give him another reason why to stick to rear-wheel drive and stay away from Audi.

These two brands should really learn to get along, like Mercedes and BMW are doing.

reply to this comment

Heyhuub - 6/21/2007 4:57:00 PM

+4 Boost

Thats the Allroad.

Htay7500 - 6/21/2007 6:33:11 PM

+2 Boost

we had tht, but Audi cut tht off at 04 or 05 for the q7

truecarlover - 6/21/2007 9:04:24 PM

+2 Boost

Tell the truth - running this ad in Australia doesn't make sense. To my knowledge - it doesn't snow in Australia. What they should have done was use one of their racing cars that was AWD and won championships. To me that would have been more relevant.

Htay7500 - the new Allroad hasn't come to the states because they thought people would prefer the Q7. The rest of the world gets both - go figure.

muzz88 - 6/22/2007 6:45:00 AM

+2 Boost

For the record, it does indeed snow in Australia, very much so in the more southern alpine region of the country. I live in Queensland, Australia (where it doesn't snow, and where I haven't seen that ad used in local advertising mediums) and my brother will soon be going on a ski trip to the Snowy Mountains.

Also, just because Audi is using ice in this example, the message can be transferred to dirt tracks, of which we have many! For the Q7's launch, they did a transcontinental trip across Aust, to some of the most barren, harsh terrain found in the inland of the country.

truecarlover - 6/24/2007 8:30:28 AM

+1 Boost

muzz - thanks for pointing it out that it snows there - I didn't know. I know Argentina and Chile get cold - I guess you guys are about similar latitude.

Neverfollow - 6/21/2007 9:43:32 PM

+4 Boost

You are under the missguided opinion that AWD is only for improved bad weather performance only.

How many times do we need to go over this. The very reason traction control esists in the first place is because engines today produce more power than RWD only cars can handle. If you are able to redistribute power to the front wheels in addition to the rear, the threshold for intervention by the ESP system is therefore much higher. AWD takes less hp away from a powertrain than ESP. Hasn't anyone over noticed that MB AMG products produce the most hp these days, however, they aren't any quicker off the line than other cars with hundreds of hp less. They simply can't hook up. Now once they get rolling, hold on, but where do you get to do that with our highway system and speed limits. All that hp is just for braggin rights in the US. 500+ hp and rear wheel drive only = mega car pileup on the 6:00 news.

reply to this comment

truecarlover - 6/22/2007 12:14:35 AM

+2 Boost

You make a good point. It's useless to have all that power without traction. That's part of the reason the Porsche 911 Turbo has AWD.

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