Let's try to make some sense out of here, Audi had their new, excellent, almost class leading A4, which sits on the modular platform that spawns the A5 Coupe, Q5 and upcoming A3, Q3 and A8. One notch above and we have the A6, which won World Car of the Year back in 2005 when it was launched.
The A5 was the first coupe from Ingolstadt in almost 20 years, succeeding the original Ur Quattro (that became the Rally legend, well perhaps in form factor wise). This effectively also calls an end to the A4 cabriolet with the A5 Cabriolet.
So all this makes a certain sense, with a sports executive sedan, a luxury coupe then onto the A6, which is a mid size executive sedan.
Now out of nowhere, rumors of Audi building a 4-Door Coupe started fuming the autoblogosphere almost 2 years back, when the economy is good (mark to market good that is). Everyone's recording record profits left right and center, and car makers are all over the craze of filling any leftover butt-crack niche marketing would bring them to the market. Audi planned for a conqueror to BMW's money printing X3. And everyone else was eyeing on Mercedes' premium E-Class, which was badged CLS, marketed as a 4 door coupe; with Porsche, Lamborghini all working on that 'very possibly the next big thing' segment.
A while after, halfway through everyone's drawing boards, financial projections; a time when BMW's Concept CS was almost done (a 7-Series sized 4 door coupe), Audi's A7 4-door coupe in tests... the market crashed. Yupe, just crashed. 5 million in US lost their jobs, governments had to collect tax payer's money and then roll out cash for clunkers plans all over the world to encourage consumers buying new cars to trigger sales, keep factories running, and keep people working.
Soon then, BMW cancelled the Concept CS, and then we saw something rather looking very niche-like - The BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo. Essentially a sedan that doesn't look too much like a sedan, an SUV that's far too low, a wagon that has way too much ground clearance. Just consider it an automotive Frankenstein perhaps. It has a hatch with a boot lid built in as well, so you could 'effortlessly open the vertical boot lid to place, say oranges and the entire hatch opens up for a basket of oranges.
Now out of nowhere, rumors of Audi building a 4-Door Coupe started fuming the autoblogosphere almost 2 years back, when the economy is good (mark to market good that is). Everyone's recording record profits left right and center, and car makers are all over the craze of filling any leftover butt-crack niche marketing would bring them to the market. Audi planned for a conqueror to BMW's money printing X3. And everyone else was eyeing on Mercedes' premium E-Class, which was badged CLS, marketed as a 4 door coupe; with Porsche, Lamborghini all working on that 'very possibly the next big thing' segment.
A while after, halfway through everyone's drawing boards, financial projections; a time when BMW's Concept CS was almost done (a 7-Series sized 4 door coupe), Audi's A7 4-door coupe in tests... the market crashed. Yupe, just crashed. 5 million in US lost their jobs, governments had to collect tax payer's money and then roll out cash for clunkers plans all over the world to encourage consumers buying new cars to trigger sales, keep factories running, and keep people working.
Soon then, BMW cancelled the Concept CS, and then we saw something rather looking very niche-like - The BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo. Essentially a sedan that doesn't look too much like a sedan, an SUV that's far too low, a wagon that has way too much ground clearance. Just consider it an automotive Frankenstein perhaps. It has a hatch with a boot lid built in as well, so you could 'effortlessly open the vertical boot lid to place, say oranges and the entire hatch opens up for a basket of oranges.
The press materials say an SUV's too difficult to hop onto (same goes your bed, if you're saying ground clearance), and a sedan can't tuck in too much stuffs (Agreed, but then we have the wagon), therefore the 5 Series GT serves purposes of all three with ease, and a rather complicated hatchboot, if you allow me to create nouns here. Of course by then someone would've asked 'How about the Audi Allroad Quattro?'
Anyway, my point is, when times are good, automakers create niche marketing products coupled with press releases that revolves around using words like 'Grand, Luxury, Exemplify your lifestyle, elegance, style etc' but when the going gets tough, their new products would still need to be sold, albeit in a more modest, utilitarian approach - Telling us how useful they are, but of course not in a way that it would appear as if they're selling a dish washer where its all about functionality, thus the name Grand Turismo was tagged onto something that wasn't a grand tourer anyway. (Note, a gran tourer is a big bad 4 seater with 2 doors)
Anyway, my point is, when times are good, automakers create niche marketing products coupled with press releases that revolves around using words like 'Grand, Luxury, Exemplify your lifestyle, elegance, style etc' but when the going gets tough, their new products would still need to be sold, albeit in a more modest, utilitarian approach - Telling us how useful they are, but of course not in a way that it would appear as if they're selling a dish washer where its all about functionality, thus the name Grand Turismo was tagged onto something that wasn't a grand tourer anyway. (Note, a gran tourer is a big bad 4 seater with 2 doors)
Then came Audi's A5 Sportback, which bangs head on with the A4, being a 4 door 4 seater with a hatch and a boot. Effectively sporting the sillhoutes of the much hyped 4 door coupe (with its swooping roof line), yet completely avoiding the word coupe, which spells sacrificing utility for style.
First off, its definitely not as ambitious as BMW's 5 Series Gran Turismo, and good for that, its far from as ugly as the 5 Series GT, in fact it is a very attractive car. By only putting their focus on creating a sedan with more accessible space and luggage capacity, it still seats 5 person, it still comes with a decent sized boot, but when the rear boot lid can be lifted all the way up, puttin the seats down, boot space can be extended all the way into cabin ala a wagon, or Avant in Ingolstad's dictionary.
This then is where it splits them both far apart. The BMW's trying to be too many things at once, and we know a Jack of all trades also meant good in none; to start with, the GT just went too far into distancing itself from what marketers would call 'top of mind' effect in consumer's purchasing decision. When's the last time you ever tell yourself you wanted a Sedan+Wagon+Hatch+SUV? And for all of Bangle's weird designs, BMW always somehow ended up creating a product that appeals to the eye in terms of its proportions, they've always got it right. Not this time. The 5 Series GT was too ugly to even begin with. Whereas the slightly less ambitious A5 Sportback achieves the same utilitarian targets with more freedom in styling. And we all know, when you look too ugly, by passers wouldn't bother much wanting to know your inner beauty.
Of course, I could be wrong. Same goes BMW.
