Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Audi: The Automotive Industry's Greatest Scam?

Almost every day I drive a 2012 Volkswagen Passat. In the last 5 years, VW has really stepped up their game and its starting to show. The automotive group has seen a huge increase in popularity in the United States. On multiple occasions, I have had a passenger get out of my car, notice the VW badge on the front-end, turn to me and say something along the lines of, "Wow! I didn't know this was a Volkswagen. It seemed like a nicer car." Many people fail to realize that VW AG owns and produces: AudiBentleyBugattiLamborghini, and Porsche. Audi is the subsidiary that is closest in price to most VW models. For similar models, Audis sell at around 150% higher than their VW brothers. Take the Audi Q5 and the VW Tiguan for an example:
VW Tiguan (left) and Audi Q5 (right)
At first glance, the resemblance is striking. This is for a good reason. Besides the obvious color difference, they are essentially the same car. They both feature the exact same 2.0 liter turbo 4-cylinder engine at the base model. They have nearly identical body shapes and they feature the same 4-motion all-wheel-drive system. To somebody not familiar with these cars, it would be nearly impossible to tell them apart in a parking lot. The starting price for the base model VW is at a somewhat modest $26,225. The price for the same features on the Audi? $39,300. For the extra $13,005 you get the exact same audio system, same navigation system, even the analog clock on the dashboard is identical. So what are you paying for? Slightly larger wheels and full-leather seats compared to only partial leather. It is kinda sad that people are honestly willing to pay 50% more for a product simply because it has a different badge. $13,000 for bragging rights. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how the car performs or how comfortable the ride is. Apparently all that matters is peoples' opinions of you are when you are seen driving it.

1 comment:

  1. Adam, While this is an interesting observation about the Audi and the VW, you don't move to any larger point. Might you find a connection here to larger Americwn values? Brand consciousness? Conspicuous consumption? And your total # of posts this term! Yipes! Stop by to chat some time soon.

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