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      11-30-2009, 02:26 PM   #31
ptack
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Drives: 135i
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2008 135i  [6.50]
Quote:
Originally Posted by footie View Post
It has everything to do with importer costs and nothing to do with efficiency. BMW like Mercedes are US manufacturers (i.e. they build cars in the US) that allows certain cost differences when they import certain models from outside the US. Audi don't manufacture there and their import costs are greater, that is why outside of the US Audi and BMW are evenly priced.

If you were them and had to make the decision of selling a third (possible) of the world RS5 stock at a greatly reduced profit just to please American customers would you do it? I know I wouldn't and I doubt Audi would feel any different.

P.S.
From everything I know about this car is WILL be superior to the M3 of that I am in no doubt. But according to what I have been told it will command a 10% increase over the M3 and that's UK prices.
Well BMW doesn't manufacture M3s in the US and they certainly aren't giving them away at a discount. It may be possible that Audi had planned to invest the necessary capital to produce RS cars at a lower price point for the US market, but they haven't. I might have been sorely tempted by an RS3, but no dice. Why?? We both know the price would have been untennable in the US compared to other cars in the market. We'll see about the RS5. I think the basic geometry of the car works against this ever being a good track car. There's simply too much weight too far forward.
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