srosie

except for unit gains in North America are extremely important to all auto makers. Daimler-Chrysler ring any bells. Daimler basically bought them for Jeep and Chysler's ability to bring show cars to market i.e. Viper, Prowler, PT Cruiser. SUV and show car trends here, thus are becoming extremely important on an international scale. International strategies aside, I would think Audi's success in America is not a fluke that only is occruring here. Oh, and Audi ain't no Plymouth.

2953

But it is interesting to note that the DaimlerChrysler shed a major brand that competed with one of its other, more profitable, brands (RONA [allocated by investment] on Plymouth versions of vehicles also sold as Chryslers was significantly lower that the Chrsyler products themselves).

I've had enough of Chairman Piech's branding strategy. The whole idean of the D-1 is flawed if VAG is serious about maintaining Audi's current market position. Upmarket VWs are indicative of the same kind of (discredited) thinking that dilluted GM.

Enough said. (from me)

2953

<ul><li><a href="http://That%20had%20more%20to%20do%20with%20the%20EU%20eq uivalent%20of%20SEC%20regulations%20than%20anythin g%20else">http://That%20had%20more%20to%20do%20with%20the%20EU%20eq uivalent%20of%20SEC%20regulations%20than%20anythin g%20else<

2953

Oops! Entered the last posting in the URL cell.

Time for some sleep

Frank C@work

by leaving off with such a benign statement that would also serve as a gentle reminder that this is an Audi enthusiast board, not an automotive industry think tank. What's the latest with you?

MA6

Gah, that seems like a REALLY flawed idea but I'd heard this before with the "Passat Plus" concept. Frankly, the Passat, while good, still hasn't dominated the Camry/Accord rank, let alone the Mercedes rank. VW (and honestly, Audi for that matter) didn't have the best image, say, 10 years ago (and given car product cycles, that's what? 2 generations roughly?).

I think VW may be right to some degree about seperating them, esp. given that they're a german company - they can't just look at other german car companies and label them all "Germany" since they've had to compete with them their entire life.

It sounds like VW's strategy is to squeeze Audi which is a shame. Personally, I think it's a mistake given VW's appearance. However, assuming that, I'm not sure there can be room for both unless if VW grows upward, Audi can grow up and downward.