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: Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, 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.

"The Sound of Feminism"

Earlier today I stumbled across a YouTube video titled The Sound of Feminism. The title in and of itself is a little controversial as the video depicts a feminist absolutely laying into some man. At one point in her rant she even calls the man a 'f*ck face'. 

Feminism is currently one of the hottest topics on the market and many are a bit weary to touch on it. In the woman's speech she recites off a paper, "The idea of certain people are inherently more valuable than other people because of superficial physical attributes is part of patriarchy." This doesn't make much sense at all. Don't get me wrong. I believe that women are just as good as men and sexism is very real, but there are certain ways to go about voicing opinions. She claims that men view some women as more valuable than others based off physical appearance. I agree with that statement. While this practice may be unethical I also believe that is the very nature of human existence. Our biological purpose is to find a mate and produce offspring that will survive and be appealing to other humans, thus continuing our species, but I digress. When she says that this is part of 'patriarchy' is when she looses my support. Patriarchy is a system in which men primarily hold power. I don't see how some women being judged by some men fits into that system. A man judging a woman because she is less physically attractive doesn't somehow give the man more power. Maybe I am not fully understanding the argument itself but she doesn't do a great job of explaining it. What do you think?