Daily Podcast: Audi Wants to Make You An Offer You Can Refuse
"At its core, the film is about a struggle between old and new power. In precisely that fashion, Audi represents the rise of a new force in luxury." God I hate hype. I don't blame Scott Keogh, Audi's chief marketing officer, for trying to build some anticipation for Audi's Godfather-themed Superbowl ad. If their ad– which will only air twice— doesn't cost them the better part of $10m, it won't cost them a pfennig. But c'mon guys. It's a TV ad, not a Francis Ford Coppola meisterwerk or the Declaration of Independence. Try as I might, I can't think how Audi is about to "redefine luxury." I find it hard enough to define luxury, never mind come up with a new concept for the term. As far as I'm concerned, Audi can claim to build luxury cars by dint of the brand's peerless interiors– and that's about it. (I want you should do me a favor. Do not speak here of the brand's reputation for building unreliable automobiles. I don't want its mother to see it that way.) And you know what? It's enough. Really. He who builds the world's best interior wins. Ipso facto. 'Cause other than Quattro, I see little else that elevates the Audi brand above Lexus, Mercedes or BMW. So why not just tell the world you build the world's most comfortable carcoon and call it good? Why not reaffirm your brand values rather than redefine them? The word I'm looking for here is… hubris. Or is it hype? Same thing.
More by Robert Farago
Comments
Join the conversation
So, does 93 or even 220 miles in a Tesla Roadster mean that I can sit in LA traffic for 4 hours with the AC blasted and still drive that distance? Or is it 1.5 - 4 hours total drive time?
Two related points on the podcast. 1. Your understanding of Canadian politics is not off the mark at all. 2. In Canada, they have plugs at many parking garages already (for block and battery heaters). It would be a simple matter to put in plugs for electric cars if they only need 110 or 220 with standard adapters. A card reader and power meter could combine to charge you for your charge.
Well, I'm not sure about the 350Z in the US, but the 350Z used to have 280HP, now 313 HP and will have 330HP in a couple of months... For continuous improvement of existing models though, I think you have to go to BMW... Even Toyota doesn't really "update" their models, they just make a new one every 4/5 years.
Not to point out the obvious, but you know who invented a system for the wireless transmission of electricity? Yeah it was some guy named Tesla. Oh and you know why it failed? Because there was no way to meter the usage of individual customers.