Wow - new Ford '49 concept is one beautiful machine...
 

It's got to be the best reinterpretation (with a decidedly modern angle) of the classic American automobile. It's too bad it isn't planned for production - its a lot cleaner and less-fussy than the '02 Thunderbird it's based upon.

Sorry for no Audi content - just wondered if other auto enthusiasts were moved in the same way.

(Please no "..yeah, but it's still a Ford!" comments. Give me a break. That could've been said about Audi not too many years ago.)

Wesley Walls
'98 A4 1.8TMS APR

Re: Wow - new Ford '49 concept is one beautiful machine...
 

"(Please no "..yeah, but it's still a Ford!" comments. Give me a break. That could've been said about Audi not too many years ago.)"

What year would that have been??? Audi has always been Audi, and Ford has always been Ford. To imply that old Audi's were lousy like Fords at one time is simply not true. Check the history books and you'll find, believe it or not, that there were other Audi's before the current A4 model. They were great cars in their day and did have a select following. The success of the A4 is not a fluke by any chance, but rather the result of a long history in building great cars.

I would say Audi has NEVER been in the same league as Ford.

Hey, I love Audi products, but...
 

the mid 80's to early 90's, Audi was putting out some pretty average product you have to admit. Unique? Yes. A niche following? Yes. Dynamic? Perhaps. World class? Hardly.

The sales numbers for that period speak for themselves - even aside from the "accelaration" fiasco, most of the product was uncompetitive and notoriously unreliable. I did not say that all the Audi's of that era were "lousy" (as you put it), but the competition was much better. The introduction of the A4 was a HUGE leap for Audi - perhaps largely with regard to styling and marketing, but it changed everything. This is going to be brutaly honest, but I'm an example of thousands of new Audi converts, by way of the A4, who did not find earlier Audi models the least bit intriguing.

BTW, I wasn't trying to compare Audi and Ford other than pointing out that every car maker goes through cycles. The sole intent of the post was to point out what a superb job Ford has done with it's current concept.

Wesley Walls
'98 A4 1.8TMS