what Eni is talking about is something i talked about extensivly back in the old GCF forums, and when we first moved here
you see before the current crop of audis, audi was not a recognizeable brand, audis wafted along with the other tasteless and very average cars like lowly VW's, fords, etc..
when audi went premium, it needed a strong brand identity, something it lacked, thus they set up on building one.
to do this they needed to make every single model unmistakably an Audi, and thus the curent crop of bauhaus,weiner styled audis.
these models do not point towards indivuality or specifics, they incoporate a general set of design elements poised to consitute themajor parts of the audi gene pool. say the trademark grill, the clean and simple lines etc.....
the problem with such design schools is that they do not create strong individual identites, albeit they are the cornerstone of powerful brand recognition.
hence as time passes, people can get easily tired by them, especially when a lowly A4 costing 1/4 an A8 ends up looking very similar to it. audi design conveys only 1 message: AUDI, it doesn't convey premium sport in the A4, sporty but comfortable in A6 etc.....
new trends in global eocnomy and especially consumer behavior are towards indivdualization, whether it be being able to buy the ipod in a gazillion collors, or to specify your brand new designer jacket in bird "fur", hence if any morale can be made out, it is you can no longer go by "you can have the FOrd Model T in any color as long as it is black"
Eni mentioned the BMW case in the 90's. BMW was becoming a strong premium brand with powerful brand recognition, and the ability to contend with then established and unrivaled leader emrcedes benz.
the last crop of wiener BMW's the E39, E38 and E46 were some of the most excellent cars ever produced by the company, especially the E39 5, now heralded to be one of the most complete cars ever. but one thing they lacked was individualization. they were all essentially mods on a primary design someone hatched.
the next crop came to ebr evolutionary and models started to get more individual and recognizeable. you could then say a 3er BMW, not BMW 3er as before. the bangle revolution curshed the conservationist bastille, but at huge risk, and it paid off.
now eveyr BMW is so unique that it oozes out a very individual yet very dynamic aura of luxury, sportiness, power, presence, sleekiness etc.....
where does that bring us to the A5?
well audi has succesfully entered the premium market, and established itself a very serious challenger to BMW and MB, at the pace the economy and trends move today, you cannot stretch the process over 2 decades like BMW did (80's 90's), you have to start thinking in a faster pace
audi wa about to enter a new segment it was always ebsent from
that of medium premium coupe, i.e. the A5 or a 3er and CLK competitor.
the chance they have with this car is, rather was, huge, it being a wholly new model that was not attached to anything in the modern consumer's feeble memory.
if anything this was the perfect car to test the waters with a more powerful design statement, to try some new ideas with, to fiddle with the grilll or anything.
the A5 is just another audi if it turns out anything near the present spy pics, and i would then question da silva's ability at self judgement, being that i am sure there are finer designs he has created
with the A5 audi stretched ther brand process a bit too long than needed, and established a wiere precedent for the A5 that would make it harder to break the mold in the near future.
now it is to be noted that not anyone can pull a bangle, it is a very hard and extremely risky procedure, and audi's design progress mgiht eb a lot mroe gradual than we might want it to be, but still for a brand new model with no historical precedent it could have been more than a TT/A4 hybrid.
it's like the maybach issue, MB had a wonderful chance with it, because it has no mdeorn rpecedent, but messed up by delivering a grand mercedes and marketed it as a rolls royce competitor under a name most buyers never heard of.
one more additional bit of my 2 cents, the ubiquitious audi front of gaping grill and rectangular"ish" headlights can only be stretched so far. it is now a great imperative to rethink it in a modern interpretation. i.e. the way BMW is doing with its fronts, keep the main design of twin lamps and twin kidney grill, but modularize and fiddle it as much as possible.
thanks for bearing with my chatter
BMW did have problems with their likeness, however the side profile of their whole sedan model range was rather similiar. Whether your in a 3,5, or 7 Series each had the same appearance just alittle bigger or smaller IMHO. If Audi is to make their bangle grill it's trademark to enhance their image, we have to deal with the similarities, which for now I'm digging!
