OK, I'm ready to open up a very touchy subject, but is it just me or did Audi really blow it with their new styling, especially the single-grill front-end? Up until this style change-over Audis were absolute perfection in terms of understated, perfectly harmonious, smooth lines that said elegance, class, and timeless beauty. I think that the 2004/2005 A8 had reached the peak of automobile perfection -- what an incredibly gorgeous car. THEN CAME THE HORSE-COLLAR GRILL!!!
We went to the Audi dealer looking to trade up from our 2001 Pearl White A4 beauty to an A6. We looked at the latest offering and just couldn't stomach the styling, so we bought a Certified 2004 A6 2.7T S-line and we love it's performance as well as its looks. The styling is just so right and so Audi.
What brings the subject to the fore today is that when I was doing a 40-mile ride on my mountain bike through some of the wealthy Western suburbs of Chicago (Chicago is Audi Country), I saw a number of Audis with the new style and they simply did nothing for me, they were so Ho-Hum, and I also saw a number of ones in the two-grill style, and they were so much more distinctive and appealing.
By the way, As far as the other German cars, I think the new VWs look too Toyota Corolla-ish, the new BMWs look too Japanese paper-folded, and, aside from the really ugly Maybachs, only Mercedes Benz has retained it's classic good looks in its new models, but that's for other forums and other rants. Sorry to go on so long but I have loved Audis and when it comes time to trade again, I just can't see myself buying a newer one unless Audi comes back to their senses.
Now do you want to know how I really feel??? (joke) Come on, out with it, how do YOU feel about all this?