Seen but not photographed: 2 Audis

A sedan and an SUV went by.  Both were dark grey.  Both look good, but neither is as great as Audi has been recently.  The sedan will do well over time.  The SUV is likely to evaporate when gas goes up.

Seen but not photographed: Big Unlabeled Audi

This one is still an Audi, but the magic is gone.  Sleekness and style are starting to yield to bloat.  Has Audi become Detroit in the late 60's?  It was a prototype, which means it might not be too late.

Seen but not photographed: Audi GT-R

Maybe it's their version of the midengined Corvette that GM threatens from time to time.

It looks like a fun car.  It moved the tester to stomp on it on a well patrolled street.

Unlike most Audis, this one looks like everything else.  The motor sounds like a small block Chevy.  

Seen But Not Photographed: Volvo and Audi

The first one I saw was a putty colored Volvo wagon.  It's raised a bit, in an effort to attract those who are cycling out of SUVs.  The back end looks glued on to the rest of the car.  The car is a box, and the rear is suddenly a trapezoid with rounded corners on the top.  The designers tried too hard and couldn't even be Swede-ish.  Instead, they have captured the cheapness of IKEA.

The Audi was a swanky black sedan.  The only chrome I saw identified the engine, a V6 TDI.  It's obvious what they're trying to achieve, but I suspect that it will combine the thirst of a 6, the durability of a turbo and the sluggishness of a diesel. 

Audi S5 V6T Convertible

More fun from Audi.

Seen but not photographed: Big Audi Sedan

Most car companies are hopelessly adrift.  They have elaborate, dissonant design languages that couldn't be explained in a semester of lectures and exams.  Some have been making their emblems bigger and bigger.  Still others try to build synergy with other brands*.

Audi stands alone, and Volkswagen is a close second.  This Audi sedan needed no explanation.  From a distance, it was a beautiful Audi.  As it got closer, there were no disparate elements that were the result of trying too hard or an approval process with too many stages. Audi is the essence of good design.  While there is a lot of hard work, the result looks easy and obvious.


*Achieving such a goal is impossible.  If you need synergy, you don't have anything to begin with.  Both brands will look worse.

Seen but not photographed: Small Audi Wagon

Right now, Audi is the car for style.  This one got everything right.  I'm not sure if it's a new body style or not.  Sometimes, you can't tell when a subtle update happens.  It could happen with Audi, which is on a roll.

There was no name on the car.  It was obviously an A something.  I wonder if their A car names will run into the worst named products of all time* in the same way that Peugeot will eventually run into Boeing by making a 707.

*Airbus.  If aviation was ever glamorous, that was ended by this company.  "Well, it's a bus with wings and..."