You are correct- but as I said Audi’s antecedents were Horch and Auto union.

The name disappeared and came back out in the late 1960s as a marketing tool.

hope that clarifies things.

I can understand that your opinion is different- but ‘one of the ugliest things on the road” – surely not.. i mean park an A5 next to a Hummer and my point will be proven

Speaking of Audi, the A5 won the Design of the Year award from Automobile magazine. I don’t understand it. That car has to be one of the ugliest things on the road in America (and one of the ugliest things on the road in Europe, right after the Pagani Zonda and Fiat Multipla). Of course, that magazine gave COTY to the GT-R over the ZR1, so I don’t care about its opinions anyway.

Let’s remember that Audi did not exist as brand before the late 1960s. Auto Union and Horch were its antecedents. The name was tiny- the demise of car maker NSU (and their wonderful RO80) allied to things that went on at VW -let to VWs appearing with Audi badges right through the 1970s. The VW Passat appeared in the UK as an upmarket version- branded Audi.

It was only in the late 1970s that Audi created its own car bodies through its first ’100′ model – and then the 80.

so Audi ‘heritage’ is a marketing man’s short term dream.

If I didn’t work with Saab, I would flip over the the four circles in a heartbeat. BMW is way down on the list.

I live in the Tampa/St. Pete area of Florida. We are blessed/cursed with 2 dealerships (there are a few more just down the road in various directions, but I only know the two closest.)

Dimmitt (Clearwater) is a Caddy/Saab dealer … but the last time I visited (weeks ago) there were a grand total of 4 Saabs on the lot (one new 9-3 Aero Convertible, one used, and one each of the 9-3 sports sedan flavors.) No 9-5s, no SportCombis, No TrollBlazers. It’s sad when the local Saab dealer has more Bentleys and Lotus on the lot than Saabs.

Saab of Tampa is considerably better stocked, but even they seem to be lacking a bit of variety … but after visiting Dimmitt, it’s hard to criticize them.

The ultimate irony is that the “Tampa International Auto Show” (a MotorTrend show) just left town, and the Saab area — while small as always — had an interesting mix of cars. And I was surprised by one of them — both by the fact it was featured, and by what I saw when I got up close to it. Nestled behind the 9-3 Aero CV and the pair of sport sedans (one Aero, one 2.0) was a Trollblazer and a 9-5 Aero SportCombi.

I checked them all out, was a bit put out that there was not a 9-3 Combi, but the one that really caught my attention was the 9-5. In metallic black with silver roof rails (painted) she looked the part of the stately, established up-model that she is (I’ve never been a big fan of the current nose job, but in black it minimizes the protuberance!)

I was so impressed by the 9-5 Combi, that I went home and checked the availability … Ironically, it was the first 9-5 Combi I had ever had the opportunity to really examine up close (I see them on the road at times, but never had the chance to touch one.) GM seems to think that there are several in Naples and West Palm Beach (Both more than 100 miles away) but the dealerships’ sites don’t back that up. Cars.com tells me the closest are in Ashville NC (538 miles) for the 2.3, and Winston Salem NC (590 miles) if I want an Aero … both are 2008s.

So, why would Saab/GM feature a car that you can’t obtain locally?

If Saab disappeared as an option tomorrow, I’d quite likely consider Audi. Their terrible dealers are the only drawback.