Posted Jan 14th 2011 12:29PM
I suggest any naysayers do your part, see this car in person. It most definitely has a presence.
January 15 2011 at 9:14 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyXJ please & thank you.
January 15 2011 at 12:56 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyUnderstated looks.
January 14 2011 at 11:34 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Replyi've sat in the new A8 and own a current A4. and really, it just isn't enough better. it just feels bigger.
even a lot of the plastics are the same like the inside of the doors unless you get the much more expensive full leather package.
and its boring looking. the S class does look way more definitely a flagship
Holy cow, haven't the Audi exterior designers heard of Down Syndome? Yeesh...
January 14 2011 at 7:05 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyJust checked out the gallery. Apart from the semi-interesting headlights, there is absolutely nothing interesting about this design.
The previous generation A8 is a better looking car. Period.
The pop-up Nav screen is a bad idea. Mercedes has realized this and dropped it from the 2012 C-Class.
Pop-up speakers, Nav screens, gear selectors (Jaguar XF) etc. are just gimmicks that can go wrong, and usually do.
My 2005 A6 had no end of electrical problems. No more Audis for me.
god, that car is so f'in bland.
January 14 2011 at 6:04 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyAudi's pinned a lot on naming names in their ads of late. But I don't know if anyone changes their mind about a car because another carmaker talks it down in their own ad, and it risks making Audi look desperate or at least kinda catty. The current A8 print ads say the A8 is "toppling the S-Class in every possible way." Pretty strongly worded for an easily disproved claim (in the US, the S-Class outsold the A8 nearly 10:1 for 2010, for example).
Audi needs to update its product cycle so the A8 doesn't always feel like the last of its generation. Unlike every A8 to date, the next one needs to introduce, not follow, a new brand design language (well, the latest variation of the old look) — and it needs to have that look to itself for at least a year (since you see so few of them on the road). That way, an A4 will tend to "look like a smaller A8" in the public eye, rather than the A8 always looking like a giant A4. The current A8 sets no styling trends, even among Audis (unless you count cutting the top corners off the grille).
The previous generation, though still a "giant A4," was a beautiful car and really did stand out among its competitors by having the sleekest, sportiest proportions — especially in S8 trim. It looked like it clearly wanted to be the understated, purposeful driver's car among big German sedans. Now it looks staid and bulky, with slab sides and a grille that's grown ridiculously large. The LEDs, however innovative, were a risky item on which to hang one's entire design cachet, since they had to realize that this technology would spread quickly throughout the industry. Now everything from a Kia Sportage to the S-Class in this very ad has them... they're the new Altezza taillight.
As for the tv ad, it really doesn't show how luxury has progressed. The shifter (shown static) looks old-school, even though it's quite a nifty thing to use. And the previous A8 had both the pop-up B&O tweeters and pop-up nav screen (geez, the old Mazda3 had a motorized nav screen). It seems like the A8 has grown more like the cars that Audi is trying so hard (too hard) to take jabs at. That's not progress.
Should have been narrated by Christopher Walken...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob37KzlUEPA
Please consumers of other brands, scootch closer. Don't make me tell you about the scootching again".
