Verona, Italy –It is said by Audi’s marketing staff that 2007 is Audi’s year of emotion. Why emotion? By the end of this year, Audi will have introduced three coupes to market: the TT, the R8, and the A5/S5. In Europe, that list of sultry two-doors includes an A5 with Audi’s 3.0 TDI.

Full Story

"To be precise, cars like this Metor Grey A5 3.0 TDI are about as un-American as you might find. With two-door body, TDI motor and manual 6-speed transmission, this is one of the least likely configurations deemed “acceptable” by the American market… and that’s just one of the reasons why we wish we could get it."

DCCXXVI

selling winter tire setup 16" steelies with wheel covers IM + FALKEN sincera 828 tires me...

now: 06 GLI reflex silver manual pkg2
aspherical blue mirrors| monster mats

I love the rear of the S-line. My major beef with the standard A5 is that the tailpipes seem to stick out from the bumper, while the quad exhausts on the S5 seem to be perfectly cut and styled with the curve of the bumper. From this picture the tailpipes seem to flow much better with the bumper and I dig the mesh grill in between. Only complaint is the S5 grill looks so much more agressive with the chrome inserts helping guide the flow of the nose...never satisfied I suppose

thanks for noticing. It's 176 KW. It has been fixed to the horsepower figure.

-G

selling winter tire setup 16" steelies with wheel covers IM + FALKEN sincera 828 tires me...

now: 06 GLI reflex silver manual pkg2
aspherical blue mirrors| monster mats

fortunately put my order for this baby a month and a bit ago heh waiting's killing me!

just wondering... in what colour is the A5 you have in the photos? looks kinda like their deep sea blue? Just wanted to confirm as it's what i've (conservatively) ordered.

Cheers

Which car? The non S-line test car was Meteor Grey. I'm not sure of the S-line, but I can try to look into it.

Please permit me to agree with and add to what "Rockhurst" said above.

IS AUDI CRAZY? They create a dream answer for car lovers everywhere that DELIVERS 39mpg as a bonus. So what do they do?

Just imagine an AUDI executive brain storming session in Bavaria where a rising star marketeer jumps up and says, "now that we have this fabulous BMW, Lexus, Mercedes & Acura killer of a car, LETS NOT INTRODUCE IT IN THE U.S.!!! "Why risk gaining huge chunks of American market share and who wants all that gawking foot traffic in our dealerships anyway? After all, the best way to capitalize on the spectaluar success of our TDI racers at Sebring and elsewhere is NOT TO HAVE A PERFORMANCE TDI IN ANY OF OUR U.S. SHOWROOMS!"

To clarify a few things....

1.) An Audi salesperson and member of this forum posted in this A5 forum that his GM of his dealership heard in the A5 training session in Spain that the car may just come sooner than I've heard. That's good news, and I'll make sure to ask more about that next time I'm around some Audi execs (i.e. next week in Le Mans).

2.) Why would an Audi exec think twice about this car? Coupes are not a big market. Neither are manual transmissions (like our tester), and diesel is an unproven segment even though cost of fuel makes them quite compelling. Bringing such a car to market would be a calculated gamble, but one you cannnot back up with numbers based on a track record of sales. Should Audi bide their time and see how the A5/S5 and/or 3.0 TDI models sell when they get here? Well if it were my paycheck job were on the line based on the outcome, I'd likely think it through a little more heavily than say you or me simply driving it and saying "that's an awesome car." I can see why they might have pause, but I also hope that Audi and Audi AG take the gamble and bring it over anyway. Timing is right with the R10 program and world fuel issues, so waiting around for a proven market example may not be the best strategy.

With luck I'm just being too cynical and that dealer GM's info from Spain was spot-on. If that's the case, we could easily see something by 2009 as the first Q7 3.0 TDIs arrive at the end of '08. Audi could easily add more models quickly at that point should they see the value.

I completely agree with you. Though I love the look of the bottom rear on the S-Line

And further more, since Audi is only selling manual transmission A5 in the US initially, and at prices likely to be noticably higher than BMW 328i, it means Audi USA is really going after the hardcore Audi fiend in the first phase of the marketing plan. This group is well versed on benefit of diesel and is probably the group of owners that you want as the first batch of Audi diesel owners in the US. Just my opinion of course.

Modified by bzcat at 1:44 PM 6-5-2007

I agree completely. If not the A5 - then definitely the A4 - it IS their biggest seller. Then the A5 as well. Time to lead the charge. I fully understand all the business case BS but at some point in time - you have to take risks. With Audi jumping their pricing stucture into the upper tier - it's time to start being an upper tier company.

DCCXXVI

I too agree with bzcat. I do business cases for a major corporation. The TDI business case wouldn't be just the A5, but their entire line-up. A car like this would go a long ways to changing American's perception of diesels and would benefit Audi in the long run. There's no telling where the alternative fuel push will take us, but if Audi wants to maximize their return on diesel investments (duh), what better to lead with than the A5?

No idea what cost goes into tuning the engine for US emission requirements, but it's an investment they could leverage against both the A5 and the A4...possibly even the A6. Plus, they could limit their risk and make it order-only. All a dealer has to do is take someone for a test-drive in the S5 and say "how'd you like that power with 40mpg @ $10k less?" Fastforward 2 minutes and another TDI is on its way to the states. The point about the manual is an excellent one too. Audi won't lead with the TDI, yet they're willing to lauch a coupe at prices notably higher than their BMW competition in only a manual...None of that will help them move the needle on market share.

Believe the S-line car is Quartz Grey.

Poor diesel means warranty issues for Audi. Selling the A5 Tdi means, they will have to sell all the other TDi cars ( A3,A4,A6 and A8).

So we should quit talking here as if Audi TdI sales alone could sustain distribution of Diesel throughout the US.....

My 2 cents.

I don't think anyone in the thread believes that Audi alone could sustain diesel sales in the US. Honda has just announced it will not produce a Hybrid Accord for the US and will use their Diesel instead. MB and VW both will sell 50 state diesels. Audi bringing their TDI technology over now will put them in the forefront. I think that is the point people are trying to make.

DCCXXVI

Even if you are right about 2009, that is about when Honda and others will be start offerring diesel sedans which means Audi will be part of the pack instead of the Alpha Male. With diesel leadership in Europe and on the race track plus record high gas prices, what better time to take a step toward the top dog position in the U.S. luxury/sport market? Can you say, "break out move"?

Risk, sure there is risk. But, how often do the planets line up so perfectly........ Think about a rolling U.S. A5 TDI introduction featuring its 12 cylinder R10 TDI first cousin champion traveling across the country alongside the first A5 TDIs to arrive in each major city - can't you just feel the magic?

Or, maybe Audi is content to smell the exhaust of Lexus, MB, Acura and, given Audi was the last car company on earth to introduce an SUV, every other car company except what may be left of that East German firm that made those rat trap shoe boxes with sewing machine sounding engines.

Audi has turned Quattro into a brand leveraging tool and TDI technology could nicely expand on that.

Besides, I'd like to be able to fill up at truck stops where there's plently of cheap food & hookers.

I believe we are in sync on recognizing a real marketing opportunity for Audi.

As for cuisine and recreation, we are in different universes.

No you haven't missed anything. I doubt that Audi will nail down the S5/A5 pricing until the last possible moment due to the slowly sinking dollar.

Hey, but what do you care?... I did notice the "RS4" in your handle.

I'm basing my comment off every quote from respectable previews of the A5/S5. They quote prices for the A5 from $40k-$45k and the S5 from $50k-$55k. Correct, we don't know the exact numbers, but if that's the ranges Audi's giving the reviewers then they're obviously prepping the market for a final price in those ranges. Even if each comes in on the low side, that puts the A5 at the same price-point of the 335i and the S5 at $10k more than an S5.

Most of the preview articles in major magazines I've seen are just doing an exchange calculation on Euro pricing, which is why the price seems to come out so high. A better guesstimate would be checking the price differential between the A5/S5 & current models in Europe. IIRC they are just slightly above the B7 A4/S4.

And in Avant shape, too!

When to use your rear fog light.

My new Office Neighbor has NT A QTRO parked outside.

Achtung Ingolstadt, (München, Stuttgart, Trollhättan, Detroit, Göteborg, somebody!?!?!?) I like station wagons with a manual transmission.