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Audi A6

6920 messages,  Last post on Dec 26, 2012 at 7:05 AM

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What is this discussion about? Audi A6, Sedan

Messages Page 639 of 693

#6378 of 6920 Re: Others [bargamon] by sfcharlie

Jun 11, 2006 (8:25 pm)

Replying to: bargamon (Jun 11, 2006 6:26 pm)
I'm not sure how to link your comments to those of mine to which you responded. I'm checking to see if I'm understanding you the way you intended.
 
Your assertion appears to be that, if asked in 2004 whether, as someone who bought an Allroad in 2001, if you'd buy an Allroad again, you'd say "no" because when it comes time for a new car you seek a different drive. I understand that and felt the same way -- I was much more interested in the Audi A6 and the Infiniti M35 (than the BMW 5 series) after having leased a BMW for two years. But you raise an interesting point -- you're suggesting that CR asks the wrong question (when they ask owners if "they would buy or lease the vehicle again"). Your implication seems to be that they should ask if they owner would buy another car from the same company. Am I understanding you there? If so, that's a good point. I hadn't thought of that. My sense of what CR is asking, however, since they are surveying people who recently bought a car, is "now that you've had it for a while, would you do it again", not so much, "now that you've had it for a while, will you definitely buy or lease (it's "buy or lease") the same exact (updated) model in 3 years?" Either way, however, why would there be so much variability, ranging from 26% to 92%, if people were thinking (but not being asked by CR) "well, not the same exact car, as a matter of course. The variablity is what interests me.
 
When you say that we see brand loyalty everywhere, you seem sure but I was asking the basis (actual stats) that support anyone making that claim. The report I cited claimed that some brands have more loyalty than others and that we don't see barnd loyalty everywhere, but I couldn't find their actual data.
 
Anyway, you appear to be headed to a car that current owners love, according to CR, since 80% of A6 owners said they'd do it again.

#6379 of 6920 Re: Others [sfcharlie] by cdnpinhead

Jun 11, 2006 (8:55 pm)

Replying to: sfcharlie (Jun 11, 2006 6:12 pm)
I think it's important to consider the source of CR "data." Those who categorize cars the same way as CR does its core competencies (appliances & house paint) are generally NOT (that would be NOT) automobile enthusiasts.
 
I'll tolerate CR's appliance & paint ratings (we do subscribe), but have always (well, for the last 40 years) taken their opinions of things like audio equipment, cameras & other products for which professionals & enthusaists wouldn't be caught dead using the "check rated" item with well more than a grain of salt.
 
Here's a question CR might ask: How do you routinely transport yourself? a) walk, b) bicycle, c) mass transit, d) evil resource-sucking, carbon-dioxide-producing, non-recyclable-product-containing, single-person-carrying selfish product? If you're so bold as to choose d), then you'd by-god better be driving a Prius or Corolla -- Civics are OK, I think.
 
CR probably still makes a fortune selling their invoice pricing data (though I'd bet a lot less than they did before the internet), "how to buy a car" & "how not to get screwed" stuff to the car-buying (computer-averse) masses, so they've decided to nod now and again to the enthusiast or otherwise irresponsible car-driving masses.
 
However, their core supporters buy most things just as they'd buy appliances & house paint -- the truly anal also endure the half-hour or more it takes to fill out the annual survey book & don't (IMNHO) represent anyone who has passion about anything on earth but saving money in a PC fashion -- this cohort values green efficiency above all else.
 
Some of us are at the other end of that scale, where cars are concerned.

#6380 of 6920 Re: Others [cdnpinhead] by sfcharlie

Jun 11, 2006 (11:56 pm)

Replying to: cdnpinhead (Jun 11, 2006 8:55 pm)
I'm not sure we're as much at odds about this as your rhetoric suggests.
 
You say: "I think it's important to consider the source of CR "data." Subscribers are the source.
 
A separate question is what subscribers do with the data. CR has never been the primary variable in my car-buy decision-making. My own excitement about the car is the decisive variable, but since both enthusiasts and non-enthusiasts contribute to such surveys, I see no reason to assume the source of the data is inherently useless to a car enthusiast, who, finding several exciting cars, might use CR as one piece of information.

#6381 of 6920 CR redux by sfcharlie

Jun 12, 2006 (7:20 am)

cdnpinhead ... where I agree, emotionally, is that CR has become the focal point of a sea change in thinking about cars, a sea change which over-emphasizes making sure that, after age 20, you only consider Toyota/Lexus products. Ironically, CR doesn't rank order its car recommendations simply in order of most reliable to least reliable. Yet, there, as you say, is that list of "percent of owners" who complained about a defect or malfunction in ecah area of the car, so some car that is great to drive (and would be enjoyed even by minor-malfunction-counters) will not even be test-driven by many potential buyers and we all pay with an increasingly homogenized auto marketplace.

#6382 of 6920 Re: CR redux [sfcharlie] by cdnpinhead

Jun 12, 2006 (9:15 am)

Replying to: sfcharlie (Jun 12, 2006 7:20 am)
Please realize that my diatribe was in no way directed at you, but rather at CR's less-than-objective-appearing tilt in many areas.
 
Best of luck in your search & decision process.

#6383 of 6920 My Avant... by breld

Jun 12, 2006 (2:48 pm)

So, I cruised on by the Audi dealership yesterday (they're closed on Sundays here in Colorado, so I like to check out the inventory without any hassle sometimes), and I noticed through the showroom window that the Oyster Gray Avant in there had a tag on it stating $4,000 off, for a sale price of $47,930.
 
Pretty good for an "advertised" price, don't you think? That's an Avant with premium, 18" wheels, wood/leather wheel and rear shades. The white one I've been looking at is the same, except without the shades.
 
Pretty tempting indeed.

#6384 of 6920 Re: My Avant... [breld] by liferules

Jun 12, 2006 (6:15 pm)

Replying to: breld (Jun 12, 2006 2:48 pm)
I personally love the Oyster Gray...

#6385 of 6920 Re: CR redux [cdnpinhead] by sfcharlie

Jun 12, 2006 (9:56 pm)

Replying to: cdnpinhead (Jun 12, 2006 9:15 am)
cdnpinhead ... i didn't take your comments personally. I enjoy the passion of these forums and the different perspectives they offer for me to consider, especially "diatribes" like yours, which challenge shibboleths.

#6386 of 6920 A6 Leather Care by habu

Jun 17, 2006 (5:24 pm)

I looking for advice or recommendations regarding products to care for the leather on my A6. Anyone have something they particularly like?

#6387 of 6920 Audi diesels by sfcharlie

Jun 17, 2006 (11:00 pm)

There's an interesting discussion of diesel cars on the LPS forum. Audi is the current leader in this technology. Winding Road magazine captured this dramatically:
 
Audi ’s sensational , rule-breaking diesel racing car triumphed at the 12 Hours of Sebring on March 18, and the automotive world changed forever. The Audi R10 TDI sports car prototype finished four laps ahead of the gasoline-powered runner-up, marking the first time a diesel engine prevailed in a major automobile endurance race. It’s more than just a marketing opportunity for Audi—this entire racing program is an “a-ha” moment for the world and could be described as one of the most generous acts in the history of motorsports. Every manufacturer who will build and sell a performance diesel in America will do so on the back of Audi’s R10 racing program.

Messages Page 639 of 693

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