Word: audi
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...catching BMW won't be easy. The Bavarian stalwart sold 1.5 million cars last year, nearly 336,000 of them in the States, and it is building cars at a plant in Spartanburg, S.C. That gives BMW a healthy cost advantage with the euro so strong--which is why Audi hasn't ruled out opening its own U.S. plant...
Another potential hurdle: Audi is pushing its superb diesel technology as the best way to cut emissions and lower fuel consumption. But diesels remain a hard sell in the U.S., where memories of dirty, noisy, sluggish diesels of an earlier era linger like smog. Nonetheless, Audi expects that 10% to 15% of its cars sold in the U.S. by 2015 will be diesel...
Puny greenbacks and diesel issues aside, Garel Rhys, an emeritus professor of automotive economics at Cardiff Business School, says, "Audi's closing the gap quickly." Five years ago, Audi wasn't competitive, but now it outsells BMW in several European markets. Nagley's not sure there's much that BMW can do to halt that design-driven momentum. "It's not been able to stop Audi in Germany, the U.K. and the rest of the world, so why should it be able to stop it in America...
...Audi's been a consistent winner of the 24-hour race at Le Mans, and the R8's bloodlines flow directly from those victories. The low-slung, squat R8 grips the road with comforting authority. Likewise, it navigates twisty country roads with commanding agility. Such performance doesn't come cheap. The $112,500 price is more than for most Mercedes and BMW roadsters, but less than what you'd pay for, say, a Ferrari or Lamborghini...
Designing a car to be priced higher than its German rivals was an exercise in brand positioning, says De Nysschen. "We think we found a sweet spot in the market." Bentley--which, like Audi, is part of the Volkswagen Group--successfully exploited a similar luxury-market niche when it positioned itself between supercostly Rolls-Royce and the sedans and coupes of BMW and Mercedes...