Richard Fogg

Please, not looking for flames, but isn't it interesting that only three months after it's eagerly awaited U.S. introduction there are multiple S4's sitting on some dealer lots, often available at a modest discount? When the new M3 hits this country I bet it takes at least a year, probably more, before a similar situation exists. Any thoughts as to why, preferably without denigrating the intelligence of BMW owners?

tge

In many parts of the country you can't find one. I ordered one over two months ago and still don't have a "build date".

BrianG

I'll bet the E46 M3 availability will be very similar.. Why wouldn't it?

Chicago Joe

The Z3 2.3 (the first one) was like that initially. Now BMW dealers have tons of them. Then the Z3 2.8 came out and it was the same story. Then the M Roadster came out and it happened all over again. Now if you go to a BMW dealership, they have at least two of each sitting around.

april

Some dealers do not take orders. They would prefer to not hassle with deposits.



I would hazard a guess and say that the areas that have cars sitting around for more than a week, are not prime Audi territory to begin with.



Oh well, in 14 months this will be a moot point as there will be NO MORE S4s. We are backed up 5 to 6 months on orders now, and plan to sell out in the next few months.



If you need to order your car, do so soon. Profit taking will run rampant as soon as oppurtunistic non-order-taking dealers realize that the other dealers have sold out.



April

Ben Broder

Audi's reputation went into the toilet with the "unintended acceleration" fiasco, and although they have made tremendous strides in rebuilding consumer confidence, there are still alot of people who have a negative reaction to the Audi marque.

In our prestige conscious society, Audi doesn't have the panache of BMW. If you put an S4 next to a BMW 323i and asked a randomly selected group of people which was the more costly car, I'll bet 9 out of 10 will say the BMW. For those who wear their car as a fashion statement, those perceptions are important.

It's a shame, because it looks like BMW is starting to cater to that crowd. I have always been a big fan of BMW, the first car I ever drove was my dad's old '75 2002 (wish he'd kept it), spartan as a Geo Metro, but an absolute blast to drive. Now, each generation of BMW looks and drives more like a Lexus.

I drove them both, and bought the Audi.

Chicago Joe

With Audi you get equal performance /and/ superior luxury.

Peter S.

Did I read that correctly? Is Audi discontinuing the S4 in 14 months?

Phil G.

Where are you guys coming from. My dealer in Philly, one of the largest in US (behind Pray in Greenwich, I believe) is telling me that the availability of MY2000 cars is limited, but he knows nothing of Audi discontinuing the cars - in fact, he's confident that by late Spring/Summer, we'll be ordering MY2001 cars - perhaps with some color changes, but little other change. With Audi clearly in the sights of other German carmakers, specifically BMW and MBZ, why in the world would they discontinue the S4, when it fits beautifully with their strategy of competing on the performance front with these other marques? Why would Audi be upping the ante with 300hp A6s, etc.? Audi sales have never been better - the dealers can't sell them fast enough. Audi has discovered what BMW discovered several years ago -diversify your lineup, models, engine choices, etc., and people will buy. If Audi plans to discontinue the S4 after only 1 model year, I'd like to see some documentation, official or unofficial to support the claims - otherwise, this is pure speculation. It makes little sense to me that Audi would be considering such a strategy.
Phil G.

Mark F

perhaps because the A4 is due for a new model about then?