July 1^st, 2004

There's an Oldsmobimmer in my Audi!

'05 A6 follows BMW to find Humanity, returns with a little Americana & a lot of luxury

Audi's 2005 A6 rolls into U.S. showrooms in November. Ingolstadt's new midsizer hopes to sell about 30,000 annually (and 180,000 worldwide). The Allroad, unfortunately, is gone - although a wagon version (along with a V6 sedan, minus the all-wheel-drive) is due for the '06 model year

Vorsprung durch Big Grille. The cue, which will be sported by all Audis soon enough, is part of a startegy to "capture the human link," as Audi A6 senior designer Achim Badstübner puts it. One gets the feeling that Audis will capture far more. Swallowing merely flying bugs is now small fare; expect to weed limbs and perhaps low-flying aircraft out of your Audi's hungry snort. Audi loosely cites Auto Union as the inspiration behind its grille - which we would be more willing to consider if the rest of the car showed the same boldness

Things get almost anonymous astern. Pleasant enough, certainly, but disappointingly conservative considering the fearless front and swooping roof. American cars have long been associated with rear overhangs of this magnitude. Elegant it may be, but the rear lacks definition; the outgoing A6, and current A4, both wear their tail-lamps at the corners. A touch of Bauhaus philosophy: use everything for function. Here, the corners are used only to frame and set up the rear fascia, a relatively futile exercise in that the fascia is unremarkable. Are we being too harsh? This is, after all, a remarkably luxurious car with a beautifully crafted interior - but visual consistency is not its strongpoint. Indeed, even Audiworld's Gavin Conway thought that, grille apart, it "just isn’t terribly exciting to look at. Too evolutionary, perhaps, and not brave enough"

The interior view from the passenger side vividly demonstrates how driver-oriented it is (much like BMW's older cars). For craftsmanship, it is unparalleled in its class - and feature-packed, too

Where are the simple, geometric shapes that have long defined Audi? For the most part, gone; where six round dials used to professionally stare back at the driver, we are left with flanked and semi-circular auxiliary instrumentation (which, incidentally, tells the driver less than it used to). They might be generic, but for the cluster surrounds that reference the trapezoidal grille. The control layout, too, appears to have fallen victim to arranging controls trapezoidally, compromising ergonomics

The A6's nose will be found peering from U.S. showrooms in November, starting at about $45,000 for the V6 Quattro and moving to $50,000 for two more cylinders. A front-wheel-drive V6 version should follow a year later, starting at around the $40,000 mark

We talked at length about the desire for increased brand differentiation in 'Bear in Review 2003/4,' part-icularly in the context of the conglomeration of the past few years.

Now that the dust has settled, those in control must consolidate, and so one sees an industry-wide drive to 'brand' the products across a range like never before.

"For certain," Audi A6 senior designer Achim Badstübner is said to have told Car and Driver, June 2004, "it won't be mistaken for anybody else's idea."

In the literal sense, we agree; there has not been a roadgoing grille this prominent since '50s Americana.

Therein lies the rub.

Despite a Germanic approach to BMW's theories about humanity in automotive design (more of which later), Audi has come up with a car whose overall impression is somewhat muddled - as much, perhaps, as the old "Oldsmobuick" colloquial labeling of GM's '80s strategy used to imply.

Oldsmobuick?
Oldsmobimmer? We'll explain.

The nature of product cycles and design lag times being what it is, Audi's new midsize sedan represents the most vivid piece yet of the ideology of Peter Schreyer, Audi's head of Design and the man under whom the A6 was developed.

Schreyer, a graduate of London's Royal College of Art, replaced Harmut Warkuss at Audi in 1994.

Warkuss became head of design for the Volkswagen Group, which had by this point amassed several brands.

A strategy was needed to separate them, and Warkuss' plan ran something along the following lines:

• Audi - sporty

• Volkswagen - functional

• Seat - young

• Skoda - classic

Famously, then-VW Group CEO Ferdinand Piech expounded on this ideology, suggesting - amongst other things - that Audi would chase BMW.

Certainly, Audi's strategy, visually, has now turned toward BMW's.

Audi's 'aero' designs of the '80s were a remarkable effort, but just as the brand's image in the U.S. was about to escape the umbrella of Volkswagen, the unintended acceleration incident broke news.

Bauhaus design turned Audi around, first (loosely) with the A4 and then with the TT. Suddenly, the albatross of unintended acceleration (which, notes David Kiley in 'Getting the Bugs Out,' 2002, no one ever proved anyway) was but a memory.

Although the 2005 A6 looks to us more architectural than athletic, that dramatic roof apart, we spot the influence of Chris Bangle in its execution.

That said, its form (again, roof apart) strikes us as a be-chromed American vehicle whose presence is derived from an emphasis on the grille - an emphasis more typical of Motown than of Munich.

Ten years after Bauhaus, the company has changed its mind again. It seems hard to imagine that a company could go from 'Aero' to 'Bauhaus' to 'Emotive' in the space of just twenty years, but that is the course which Audi has charted.

The most recent, third stage is, however, a little half-hearted. Half of one, and half the other - or so it seems.

Which pieces are which?

• The German: Oldsmobimmer (link)
   

• The American: Oldsmobimmer (link)

The German: Oldsmobimmer

It has been done far too often, by far too many who have far too little understanding of the needs and workings of the industry and the market -

- but in Audi's A6, we are straight-faced in citing Bangle as an influence.

The recently promoted Head of Design for the BMW Group, who kicked-off 1999 saying that he wanted the 3 series to "have a face... to be a statement of beauty, like the Three Graces," progressively steered a reserved BMW toward increasingly 'human' design since taking over from Claus Luthe on October 1^st, 1992.

• Like dimples, warmer curves and cuts dubbed "flame surfacing" have appeared along erstwhile uppity Bimmer bodywork with each progressive model revision;
   

• the athleticism of the 3 series' 'face' met the brooding 7 series, whose uppity look gave it a visual distance to match the weight of its price differential,
   

• and Bangle even experimented with the asymmetrical X Coupé Concept at the 2001 Detroit Auto Show, explaining that human beings were not symmetrical and therefore cars should not be, either.

Suddenly, BMWs became not just part of family, but individual members with individual personalities.

That said, we continue to receive mail from BMW loyalists who remain alienated by the new direction.

While we sympathize (particularly after seeing what can be done with a simple freshening of Paul Bracq's lines in the '03 Targa Newfoundland-winning Bavaria), we feel that BMW's proportions and detailing had been so widely copied by the likes of Lexus' IS300, in particular, that the brand's visual impact was growing less and less exclusive.

Audi has a still more desperate problem. With the Phaeton, and a possible upcoming model between it and the Passat, parent Volkswagen has come perilously close to stealing Audi's raison d'être.

The Bangle controversy (labeled the Sturn und Drang over Chris Bangle by the New York Times this past January) shows no sign of dissipating and so - perhaps in a sign that it, too, wants to be talked about - Audi's new range seeks to "capture the human link," as A6 senior designer Achim Badstübner puts it.

Audi loosely cites Auto Union as the inspiration behind its grille (heritage is, of course, yet another differentiator).

The grille is not the only part of the car that has grown. Larger in every dimension, the A6 manages a length that is three inches longer than BMW's 5 series even as its wheelbase is two inches shorter. Although the car remains reasonably hefty, thanks to a continued use of steel over aluminum, the weight gain over the outgoing model is minimal - while torsional rigidity is improved by 34%.

This suggests that more work went into this car than the design or ergonomics indicate - and that refinement was not the sole priority Indeed, Audi shares with BMW not only a vision of humanity in its design, but a former BMW employee named Georg Middelhauve.

Middelhauve, notes Car and Driver, June 2004, "jumped from BMW five years ago to help make the blue-and-white spinner's handling magic work for Audi."

In Middelhauve, if not in its design, Audi has found BMW's thoroughness; his group worked solely on ball-joint designs for two straight years, according to Car and Driver, and fought a battle with management to can the use of rubber isolators. The result is a quicker steering system, and less slop in both the wheel and the chassis.

The brakes, long a VW Group issue, feel more direct, too - although CAR, May 2004, has cautioned that weight distribution under extreme braking is a touchy issue.

Like BMW's 7 series (and, for that matter, Isuzu's Axiom), Audi's A6 will offer an injection system which squirts fuel directly into the combustion chambers. Dubbed FSI (Fuel-Stratified Injection), and used in Audi's Le Mans cars, it features in the 3.1-liter DOHC, 255hp, 243lb-ft V6. The new engine is said to pull the 3700lb A6 to 60mph in 7.1 seconds.

Like the Mercedes SLK's own new 3.5-liter V6 (see article: Sportlich und Kompact - if not quite zo Leicht), Audi uses flaps in the intake to aid combustion. Indeed, Audi claims that power is improved by up to 10%, and fuel economy by up to 5%.

The standby 4.2-liter DOHC, 335hp, 310lb-ft V8 improves the 0-60mph time by a second, and costs just 150lb in weight.

Rumors abound of a 500hp V10 RS6 version. Currently, both V6 and V8 configurations are pulled by the A8's 6-speed automatic 'box. A CVT is planned for the '06 front-wheel-drive A6 3.2.

Inside, as with BMW's flame surfacing, Audi's own cues (read: grille) set up a series of inspired designs on the wheel, in the cluster, and in the form of the dashboard.

Yet, both ergonomically and in interior materials, A6 diverges from modern BMW. The console is driver-oriented like BMWs older cars were, and fit, finish, and material quality goes straight to best-in-class. Bangle-era Bimmers have been the source of complaints for the neutral stance of their consoles, and (on some models) a feeling of cost-cutting in areas of their interiors.

Where is the stick-shift? There is no sign of one for a while, although Audi promises that this is in the works.

In the meantime, this car's ace is refinement - which, to a degree, brings us to the next section.

(return to top)

The American: Oldsmobimmer

In the Oldsmobuick days, a common criticism of the cars was their anonymity - not only between each other, but on an absolute level.

Some have stated that the new A6 is polarizing, but not us - and not even Audiworld's own Gavin Conway, who recently suggested that the car "just isn’t terribly exciting to look at. Too evolutionary, perhaps, and not brave enough." ('Road Test: 2005 Audi A6,' Audiworld, May 1^st, 2004)

It is a case of looking beyond the grille. One of the reasons we have found sense in Bangle's work is that we look beyond front and rear fascias - and to the car as a whole - in search of a cohesive, homogenous appearance.

Apart from the grille, and Audi's trademark arched roof, this is a relatively (if pleasantly) conservative design, with touches of chrome to spice things up. The upturned swoosh at the base leads into the high bumper; the waistline rounds out the tail-lamps and plummets directly into the headlamps, down and around the grille, and back to the rear again.

This is a language which has not changed with the grille. This leads to a car that appears to have a cohesive appearance up until the front fascia. Perhaps once the grille is more familiar, it will appear to fall in line - but then Audi was hardly looking to lose the shock value, here.

 Like Oldsmobuicks of the past, the A6 differentiates itself peripherally.

Moreover, the bulk of the size difference between new and old A6 goes into the rear overhang which, viewed from a three-quarter perspective, is certainly sizeable.

"Brutal-looking," Badstübner told The Detroit News, March 31^st, 2004.

Buick-looking, was our first thought. American cars have long been associated with rear overhangs of this magnitude. Elegant it may be, but the rear lacks definition; the outgoing A6 (and current A4) both wear their tail-lamps at the corners in a neat tribute to Bauhaus philosophy: use every piece for function.

Here, the corners are used only to frame and set up the rear fascia, a relatively futile exercise in that the fascia is unremarkable.

Inside, despite an understanding of who its pilot is, and build and material quality at the top of its league, this is still less a traditionally German, single-minded cockpit than the quarters of a tourist who might tour Bavaria looking for bratwurst.

Navigation screen and air vents being at the forefront of the dashboard aside (for every car, it seems, is headed that way), where are the geometrical shapes that have long defined Audi?

For the most part, they are gone; in the cluster, where six round dials used to professionally stare back at the driver, we are left with flanked, semi-circular auxiliary instrumentation (which, incidentally, tells the driver less than it used to). They might be generic, but for the cluster surrounds that reference the trapezoid of the grille. In fact, the control layout generally appears to have fallen victim to arranging controls trapezoidally, compromising ergonomics.

In this, there is some evidence of the clash between this vehicle's German, premium, sport-minded positioning, and the reality of its controls. Audi's MMI interface, which held such promise when introduced in the A8 two years ago, now seems redundant; the haphazard placement of the rest of A6's switches makes one wonder what the point is.

If the shape of the wheel reminds the driver of the brand they are piloting, it seems cumbersome and distinctly leisurely for a car that bills itself as a sport sedan.

Indeed, sources suggest that the steering is, true to all-wheel-drive form, not on par with BMW's for feedback.

Peace of mind, however, is more engineered than any Oldsmobuick's ever was. Grip is excellent; handling is both more nimble and less eventful in swift driving (and should improve when a promised 40:60 torque distribution comes to Quattro), and the ride - though a little jittery at times - may yet beat the rest of the class if Audi's future air suspension is as good as it claims. For quiet, the A6 may already be unmatched.

Perhaps, then, it is best to enjoy the extra precision from the perspective of the excellent refinement; to drive the A6, in other words, in the knowledge that its grip and greater poise serve to enable more time to be spent admiring the generous features, unparalleled craftsmanship, and superlative isolation of its interior.

Customers who get past the grille will find very little else to complain about; ironically enough, those who like the nose may find the rest of the car lacking.

That nose will be found peering from U.S. showrooms in November, starting at about $45,000 for the V6 Quattro and moving to $50,000 for two more cylinders. A front-wheel-drive V6 version should follow a year later, starting at around the $40,000 mark.

Car and Driver, June 2004, called the 2005 A6 "a kindler, gentler Audi." Yet Audi is chasing a more human look without carrying out the type of visual revolution that BMW has.

"Car companies, like sharks, must keep swimming or perish," the magazine added. Well, as we noted at the top, it seems hard to imagine that a company could go from 'Aero' to 'Bauhaus' to 'Emotive' in the space of just twenty years, but that is the course Audi has charted - while being noncommittal about the final stage.

Although this inherent caution (despite the apparent brashness) will engender a more mass appeal (for the same reason that vanilla is a favorite ice cream flavor), it also threatens to leave the brand in No Man's Land - a superlative Oldsmobuick for the stratosphere.

That parent Volkswagen has begun not only moving upmarket, but adding chrome and 'humanity' to its own line, only serves to enforce the thought that the wheel has, unnecessarily, come full-circle.