The New Audi Quattro – Happy 30 Years

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There is a new car on the block. A concept Audi Quattro to celebrate the last 30 years of the most advanced 4 wheel drive system in the world.

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*Atrocious music (they should have learned from themselves <— 31,316)... but the history lessons are good. Almost Genius.

Pikes Peak – 1985 Audi quattro

[iDevice Link] <— 791,069 views In this video you will see Michele Mouton setting a new record on The 1985 Pikes Peak International Hillclimb in her factory sponsored Group B, Audi Sport quattro S1 with a time of 11:25.39. She was not only the fastest overall in 1985, but also set a record which still remains unbeaten to this day by a female driver. Just another movie for those of you who don't understand the difference between 4 wheel drive... and quattro.

New Audi R18 Racer Revealed

Tick your company car box with ‘Audi’ and ‘diesel’, and you’d expect an A4 with 2.0-litre four-pot, right? Not so Allan McNish. The two-time Le Mans 24hr winner and Audi Motorsport driver has just taken delivery of his new company car, the Audi R18.

The R18 is the first ‘closed roof’ Le Mans racer run by the Audi factory team and features a 3.7-litre V6 TDI (down from last season’s 5.5-litre V10 diesel) coupled to a six-speed box. The one-piece body allows for greater weight savings, while the chassis and aerodynamics were developed using previous ‘R’ models.

Interestingly, this R18 has also been designed for ‘progressive electrification’ as long as “it provides a true advantage”. Don’t forget, Audi has won the Le Mans 24hrs a staggering nine times from 12 attempts.

The R18 will make its debut next year for an official test on 24 April ready for the race in June. For now, take a moment to ogle its rather delectable shape.

Good share Nick Andrews – [Straight from TopGear]

Sudden Acceleration

Toyota – your not the first. Sudden acceleration syndrome has made some news lately. But lets not forget this isn’t anything new. Automobile Magazine takes a look back at the early years of this phenomena.

Audi sales plummeted from a peak of 74,061 units in 1985 to only 12,283 sales by 1991.

I doubt Toyota’s sales will plummet like Audi’s did in the late 80s… as this is merely a small blip on the radar for the worlds largest automobile maker.

Back on the quattro side of things – If only we could do something to slow the growth of Audi today. I’m tired of seeing my brand placed into the hands of so many incapable drivers. What happened to BMW being the ultimate driving machine?

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HYDLE – Super Bowl Ad Wrap-up

Song – Dream Police – Cheap Trick

I tracked 100 advertisements throughout Super Bowl XLIV and the winner for most creative and overall best executed upon first review is Audi… and this is partly why – Take the challenge. Nice work Paul Venables from Venebles Bell & Partners in San Francisco.

Two other ads that blatantly got me were the Denny’s chickens. The first of 3 Denny’s commercials aired in the 3rd quarter and I perceived it as old, already been done… and not very impressive.

But surprisingly they had two more coming in the 4th quarter from Goodby Silverstein & Partners.

Inspirational

Coca Cola came through with their regular two weirdly inspirational spots by Wieden + Kennedy, Portland. Google made some internet waves and told a story through search. FloTV spent some coin and their Generation advertisement was inspiring to kick off the half time show.

Let Downs

E*Trade babies were back, but not with original voices. Maybe they are growing up. It is very hard to top what they have already accomplished with their babies. So why keep trying.

Doritos should probably quit allowing consumers to make their ads for them.

Go Daddy has nearly almost run its course. Their second ad slightly saved the first… but nothing like they used to be… simply because (lesson to everyone listed above) da da da… it has already been done before.

Checks

Additional commercials that got checks in my book. As in – I would like to check them out again are:

Miller High Life Little Guys link Station Film
McDonalds Play You For It link Translation
Snickers Old Lady link BBDO, New York
Monster Beaver link BBDO, New York
Cars.com Timothy Richmond link
CBS David Letterman SB Party link
Dodge Man’s Last Stand link Wieden + Kennedy, Portland
Intel Lunchroom link Venables Bell & Partners, San Francisco
Intel Timeline link Venables Bell & Partners, San Francisco
VW Slug Bug link
HomeAway.com Griswold’s link
CareerBuilder.com Job Fairy link MJZ
2010 Census Census link DraftFCB, New York
NFL Networks Best Fans on the Planet link Grey, New York
TruTV Groundhog Day link Grey, New York

The Surprise

Of all brands and commercials that I would never consider as being something I could support… the big surprise this year was this Kia – Sorento ad from David & Goliath, Los Angeles.

Beer

Of the 8 Budweiser and Bud Light related ads that ran… 3 interested me. Asteroid, T-Pain and Lost. All of which were puns off their new “It’s the shear sign of a good time” jingle.