One of the enduring lessons of the car game is that good vehicles don’t always sell well. As a car writer who took on news analysis before ever getting manufacturer-sponsored time behind the wheel, this lesson can’t help but tinge my impressions of a road test. So when my first weeklong tester arrived in the form of a Q7 TDI, I felt no desire to justify Audi’s decision to bring the thing to market. After all, by any reasonable analysis, the brand built by Quattro wagons should have been the primary beneficiary of America’s SUV craze. Or, at least its worst enemy. Instead the Q7 showed up for the party fashionably dressed but fashionably late. And very few wanted to buy it. With the high price of luxo ute party fuel already killing the festive vibes, is switching to a new drink enough to make Audi’s SUV sales party like its 1999?
Recent Comments
Halftruth - W123 or not, like Sajeev says, old cars suck. I like to wrench myself but only minimally, not as a part time fleet mechanic. I have heard from more than a few...
al w - The only transmission-related problem that I recall on my father’s ’57 Dodge that I learned to drive on was that he would...
28-Cars-Later - That’s nice to hear… the Panther is obviously a superior choice :)
28-Cars-Later - I had an ex who in 2006 was obsessed with the idea of seven row seating in an SUV (she had three kids). She had a ’99 Caravan held together by...
maciejewskiadam - Jonny- great review. I have one thing to say, though: ‘Aluminum Look’.
MRF 95 T-Bird - Corvair’s with automatic transmissions(Power-glide) had the lever on the dash which lacked the Park function. Just...
Scoutdude - Those Chinese bumpers will likely loose their chrome or start rusting like crazy in only a couple of years and even brand new it...
Landcrusher - No, I in no way even implied that. You could demilitarize DARPA, whatever. Besides...
86SN2001 - Warning, threat…….whichever works I guess.
jmmz - I still have my blue 1983 Honda DX automatic Hatchback and it is going strong. Super fun to drive.