"Spanfeller is a twat" (theaspiringengineer)
08/22/2019 at 15:09 • Filed to: None
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"Spanfeller is a twat" (theaspiringengineer)
08/22/2019 at 15:09 • Filed to: None | 1
| 18 |
When I first saw that grey RS6 Avant cruising down Presidente Masaryk a few years ago, I was stunned. It had a perfect stance, and the flared fenders made it look very powerful. A very attractive car... for sure. But what kept racing in the back of my mind was... Where did they buy it?
An European-market RS6 Avant in Mexico City
While it is a shame that Audi never imported the RS6 Avant to Mexico through dealers, it’s typical of VWAG to keep the most interesting cars they sell away from our shitty roads. Think, the Scirocco, or the Audi S1, the Phaeton,
the manual Cupras and Cayennes, or even Skodas. It’s not like Mexico has a complicated or even time consuming regulatory burden on car companies. After all, they do sell the RS7. If VW didn’t want to sell the RS6 avant here... it was because they were lazy or were making stereotypes about the Mex
ican market.
Surely the US has more vehicular regulations than we do. But still, if Audi wanted to sell the RS6 Avant... just like Mercedes sold the E63 wagon... they would’ve been able to. They didn’t do it for the same reason they didn’t bring it here... Because they were lazy.
I don’t think Audi deserves any sort of merit for finally importing the RS6 to America. If anything those ads showing “25 years in the making” should serve as a reminder that they were so lazy that they took 25 years to finally react.
Discerning
> Spanfeller is a twat
08/22/2019 at 15:12 |
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I think they didn’t do it because they don’t sell well in the US. The e wagon doesn’t sell, the cts wagon didn’t sell, the e60 wagon didn’t sell, and this new rs6 probably won’t sell.
Take a look at the used market for the above and you’ll find two things:
1) serious scarcity
2) serious premiums. Because the few who actually want it are willing to pay for it. Emphasis on few
gettingoldercarguy
> Discerning
08/22/2019 at 15:17 |
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Year over year sales of wagons are impressive percentage wise. The overall numbers are quite pathetic because UVs. I interpret this as manufacturers hedging their bets with a possible transition in the market .
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Spanfeller is a twat
> Discerning
08/22/2019 at 15:17 |
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I would be surprised if Audi sold more than a thousand RS7s and S8s here in Mexico
, yet they still trained mechanics on how to work on them, and have the infrastructure to service/repair those cars. Keeping them on stock would be preposterous
, but surely letting customers do a factory order should be available. If Mercedes could justify the
cost, I’m inclined to say VW could’ve paid it too.
farscythe - makin da cawfee!
> Spanfeller is a twat
08/22/2019 at 15:17 |
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you know why i think murica gets them now?
its coz manuals went extinct so now even americans can drive the pretty european models :p
RutRut
> Discerning
08/22/2019 at 15:17 |
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Agreed. The ROI for selling these cars in North America is borderline non-existent.
Arrivederci
> Spanfeller is a twat
08/22/2019 at 15:18 |
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It wasn’t laziness. They just knew they’d only sell two dozen of them, so why spend the money federalizing it? So car journos and Oppos who can’t afford it can swoon? Not a great business case.
I’m honestly wondering what has changed and can only arrive at the fact that Audi Sport was launched as a separate brand from Audi in 2017, so they’re more in control of the product they offer and where. I attended an Audi Sport event last year and they did say that the brand would be making a specific effort to bringing more RS cars to the US, though they were very cagey when I asked about the RS6 Avant.
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Spanfeller is a twat
> Arrivederci
08/22/2019 at 15:21 |
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It’s not like they need more infrastructure... they already sell a few cars with the RS6's engine in the US. Plus, they federalize much rarer cars. I think we give them too much credit when they cry foul and blame the USDOT for not importing cool cars...
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Discerning
> Spanfeller is a twat
08/22/2019 at 15:22 |
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But the RS7 sold well in the US and the S8 didn’t do all that bad either. And I imagine bringing them south of the border would be pretty easy for VAG (could be wrong).
CompactLuxuryFan
> Spanfeller is a twat
08/22/2019 at 15:27 |
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Exactly my thoughts! If anything, it’s a slap in the face that they’re finally bringing over another fun wagon right as 1) anything that’s not a crossover is getting slaughtered 2) there’s an economic crisis looming that will certainly affect ~ $100k car sales and 3) they continue to throw a lot more incentives at their SUV models!
I’m now curious how the B6 and B7 S4 Avant performed next to the sedan, since that’s the last time I think Audi brought over a wagon on what could be considered even footing. Even back then I bet sedans ended up being much cheaper because of incentives.
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Spanfeller is a twat
> Discerning
08/22/2019 at 15:29 |
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But that’s kind of what I mean... If they brought the RS7 and the S8 even if the business case was shaky
... why would it be so hard to bring the RS6?
merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc
> Spanfeller is a twat
08/22/2019 at 15:41 |
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The S8 and RS7 appeal to a different buyer. Speaking as an S8 owner, I wanted the biggest sedan I could get from Audi. They are still a classy looking car, RS7 as well. But a wagon is still a more niche audience, especially when it’s a bit smaller than the big sedan.
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Discerning
> Spanfeller is a twat
08/22/2019 at 15:44 |
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I don’t know if either was shaky. The normal a7 was flying off the shelves and the S8 was just a continuation of a model they had been selling in the US for a while.
In terms of market segments, they also needed something to sell against the S63 amg and CLS63 amg, both of which were also doing relatively well in the US.
The hot wagons just weren’t hot in the US. It would mean bringing over a new body style, which I assume would have NHTSA requirements or some other such thing.
The sedans were here regardless, so might as well bring over the hotter version.
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Arrivederci
> Spanfeller is a twat
08/22/2019 at 15:53 |
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That could be true - I have no real idea what the standards are. Does the same engine need recertified with different turbos and different tune? Does an A6 Allroad that meets crash standards mean the RS6 needs tested too? Maybe?
It’ll be interesting to see how many people pony up the $100k these are going to command.
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Spanfeller is a twat
> Discerning
08/22/2019 at 16:06 |
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It was shaky here.
In market segments, its even weirder that they don’t bring it... Mercedes and BMW don’t have wagons, only Volvo and VW do. Which means wagon fans need to go to them.
I don’t know much about it, but if a small import
company was almost able to do it for the R34, I think VWAG could do it also.
Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
> Arrivederci
08/22/2019 at 16:54 |
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That’s just it, how many people that can afford it will want it? I suppose on the other hand the American public is unfortunately willing to go into car loan debt that is far beyond what their budget can bare.
I hope plenty of examples end up in circulation here, so I may one day be able to at least entertain buying a used one. But I bet it would still be above what I’d be comfortable spending.
JamesCor
> Spanfeller is a twat
08/22/2019 at 18:25 |
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Wait, you saw an RS6 in Polanco?
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Spanfeller is a twat
> JamesCor
08/22/2019 at 18:44 |
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Yes, a couple of years ago
bob and john
> Arrivederci
08/23/2019 at 09:40 |
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yes. every different motor/drive train/ body
combo needs to be tested
Part of the reason FCA does release a dodge charge hellcat manual. the chassis COULD, in theory, take the manny tranny. but it would have to be re-tested with the new trans. and not a good buisness case.