Here goes... bit rough... and way too long... who wants to help edit this down, wordsmith and polish it... Other than Mr HPmuirt - he is elected for a start...
Open Letter to Audi UK and Audi AG
By way of introduction, I represent a multi-award winning internet forum dedicated to the Audi S2 and RS2 models. Over recent years there has been a lot of discussion on this forum about the difficulties faced by owners of these, and other older Audi models, due to increased levels of parts which are being declared ‘no longer available’ (NLA).
Couple that to the difficulties these same owners face with some repair and maintenance operations on old vehicles such as the S2/RS2. The current generation of Audi UK technicians have little or no training on them and the electronic service advisory system (ELSA) does not cover them adequately. It has also been brought to my attention that many dealerships have already disposed of the paper documentation and bespoke tools, used to look after these old vehicles, by declaring them obsolete and of no inherent value.
The multi-facetted skills of users on internet forums such as ours, their camaraderie, open sharing of information are what we have to come to rely on to keep these cars on the road in the prime condition that they deserve. This makes owning such a vehicle only possible for those with a high degree of mechanical aptitude and enthusiasm or those who can make use of the professional services from a very small number of independent specialists who are suitably equipped.
We have long since felt that Audi UK and Audi AG have a less than positive attitude to owners of these old vehicles. As much as the cars are a pleasure to own and drive, the experience is often a disappointing one by not getting the treatment that we feel is deserved upon us.
The levels of our disappointment with the apparent attitude of Audi UK and Audi AG to owners of older vehicles has reached an all time high with the news this week that some internet searches for keywords such as “RS2” now draw attention to web sites hosted by Audi UK that inform visitors of the schemes being investigated to make it possible for people to bring these vehicles to Audi for scrap and disposal in return for a reduction on the price of a new Audi. The rationale given to the proposed scheme is alleged to be that new cars are more environmentally friendly, safer and that it would be a boost to the automotive industry in the current economic climate. I find this frankly disgusting and an insult to the intelligence, loyalty and passion that our community has to the Audi brand and our cherished old cars.
Yes, there is a difficult economic climate at the moment – but why should the automotive industry be singled out for financial assistance from government sponsored schemes that are tainted with the green slime of blinkered ecomentalists who are unable to see the whole picture?
Owners of these old Audi models, facing complete obsolescence if nothing is done, drive a relatively small number of miles per year. They are generally cherished second or third vehicles that do not run up high annual mileage. Of course they have higher CO emissions at the exhaust than current state of art machinery, but when you offset the carbon footprint of creating one of these new fangled cars against its reduced emissions over such a small dynamic operational range of the vehicle’s life - then anyone can see that the old car is more environmentally friendly.
As the EU emissions laws have tightened through the 1980’s up to the present day, so have the safety measures and performance in crash tests. The irony of all this is that engine sizes have continually increased during that time from marques such as Audi and the weights of these vehicles has also increased accordingly. Both of these facts completely undermine the true environmental impact, because the mass media, government officials and the general public focus just on CO2 emission levels at the exhaust. Seemingly the lower that number – the better.
What I find most frustrating in all of this is that the reputation Audi has built since the inception of the original Quattro supercar is the motto of ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ as seemingly been lost. This term loosely translates in English to “advance through technology”… This is what we have seen with the Quattro drivetrain, alloy spaceframe chassis, dynamic ride control, stratified fuel injection, turbo-diesel technology and other advanced capabilities made possible by your technical partners by way of ABS, variable turbine geometry, fly-by-wire, traction control and other wizardry.
In this climate, you need to continue to innovate in order to succeed… It is this innovation that created the current Audi brand in recognition of vehicles with great engine performance, control, comfort and prestige. The legacy of Audi’s history in motorsport goes a long way to validating that notion. Look how Audi redefined what a world rally car needed to be, how Audi dominated the IMSA & TOCA racing series and, of course most recently, what it achieved in the LMP series with immense success through innovation of new FSi and TDi technology.
In support of the motorsport success at Audi came the S, RS and R branding of Audi’s top of the range vehicles. The first of which was the Audi S2. Of course the original Quattro coupe came before that and it must receive special recognition as the vehicle which really turned round the fortunes for Audi AG.
The challenge of keeping these old vehicles running properly is significant. The owners of these old cars do not wish to receive special treatment from Audi – just seeing some tangible evidence from Audi that we are not going to face continuing complexity in owning them through time would be some small victory.
I would like to see Audi continue to innovate with truly eco-friendly cars for the mass market. Things like hydrogen fuel cells, kinetic energy recovery, solar and next generation electric technology. This letter is just a simple plea to not simultaneously make the old cars disappear from sight entirely - as to do so would be utterly disrespectful to the heritage created by Audi in these fantastic cars.
With their galvanised bodyshells, under-stressed engines, heavy duty suspension and supreme build quality – the only thing that makes the S2/RS2 difficult to own is how Audi appears to treat it’s owners as third class citizens.
There is a huge groundswell of support across the owners of these heritage models for Audi if they can be seen to be making positive steps to help us look after these cars. This means finding alternate sources of manufacture for the growing number of parts that would otherwise become NLA. The internet forums are very well connected across the car industry and manufacturing specialists in a wide number of technologies. These communities are more than willing and able to help Audi create a significantly better way to look after its heritage.
By creating new innovative ways to support the heritage owners, Audi will join a significant number of other manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Porsche, Ferrari, Jaguar and others who have recognised the importance of respecting their heritage. Done properly, this would be a new profit centre for Audi – nobody is expecting the cost of operating such a division to be taken off the bottom line.
Signed, the administration, on behalf of www.s2forum.com
Open Letter to Audi UK and Audi AG
By way of introduction, I represent a multi-award winning internet forum dedicated to the Audi S2 and RS2 models. Over recent years there has been a lot of discussion on this forum about the difficulties faced by owners of these, and other older Audi models, due to increased levels of parts which are being declared ‘no longer available’ (NLA).
Couple that to the difficulties these same owners face with some repair and maintenance operations on old vehicles such as the S2/RS2. The current generation of Audi UK technicians have little or no training on them and the electronic service advisory system (ELSA) does not cover them adequately. It has also been brought to my attention that many dealerships have already disposed of the paper documentation and bespoke tools, used to look after these old vehicles, by declaring them obsolete and of no inherent value.
The multi-facetted skills of users on internet forums such as ours, their camaraderie, open sharing of information are what we have to come to rely on to keep these cars on the road in the prime condition that they deserve. This makes owning such a vehicle only possible for those with a high degree of mechanical aptitude and enthusiasm or those who can make use of the professional services from a very small number of independent specialists who are suitably equipped.
We have long since felt that Audi UK and Audi AG have a less than positive attitude to owners of these old vehicles. As much as the cars are a pleasure to own and drive, the experience is often a disappointing one by not getting the treatment that we feel is deserved upon us.
The levels of our disappointment with the apparent attitude of Audi UK and Audi AG to owners of older vehicles has reached an all time high with the news this week that some internet searches for keywords such as “RS2” now draw attention to web sites hosted by Audi UK that inform visitors of the schemes being investigated to make it possible for people to bring these vehicles to Audi for scrap and disposal in return for a reduction on the price of a new Audi. The rationale given to the proposed scheme is alleged to be that new cars are more environmentally friendly, safer and that it would be a boost to the automotive industry in the current economic climate. I find this frankly disgusting and an insult to the intelligence, loyalty and passion that our community has to the Audi brand and our cherished old cars.
Yes, there is a difficult economic climate at the moment – but why should the automotive industry be singled out for financial assistance from government sponsored schemes that are tainted with the green slime of blinkered ecomentalists who are unable to see the whole picture?
Owners of these old Audi models, facing complete obsolescence if nothing is done, drive a relatively small number of miles per year. They are generally cherished second or third vehicles that do not run up high annual mileage. Of course they have higher CO emissions at the exhaust than current state of art machinery, but when you offset the carbon footprint of creating one of these new fangled cars against its reduced emissions over such a small dynamic operational range of the vehicle’s life - then anyone can see that the old car is more environmentally friendly.
As the EU emissions laws have tightened through the 1980’s up to the present day, so have the safety measures and performance in crash tests. The irony of all this is that engine sizes have continually increased during that time from marques such as Audi and the weights of these vehicles has also increased accordingly. Both of these facts completely undermine the true environmental impact, because the mass media, government officials and the general public focus just on CO2 emission levels at the exhaust. Seemingly the lower that number – the better.
What I find most frustrating in all of this is that the reputation Audi has built since the inception of the original Quattro supercar is the motto of ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ as seemingly been lost. This term loosely translates in English to “advance through technology”… This is what we have seen with the Quattro drivetrain, alloy spaceframe chassis, dynamic ride control, stratified fuel injection, turbo-diesel technology and other advanced capabilities made possible by your technical partners by way of ABS, variable turbine geometry, fly-by-wire, traction control and other wizardry.
In this climate, you need to continue to innovate in order to succeed… It is this innovation that created the current Audi brand in recognition of vehicles with great engine performance, control, comfort and prestige. The legacy of Audi’s history in motorsport goes a long way to validating that notion. Look how Audi redefined what a world rally car needed to be, how Audi dominated the IMSA & TOCA racing series and, of course most recently, what it achieved in the LMP series with immense success through innovation of new FSi and TDi technology.
In support of the motorsport success at Audi came the S, RS and R branding of Audi’s top of the range vehicles. The first of which was the Audi S2. Of course the original Quattro coupe came before that and it must receive special recognition as the vehicle which really turned round the fortunes for Audi AG.
The challenge of keeping these old vehicles running properly is significant. The owners of these old cars do not wish to receive special treatment from Audi – just seeing some tangible evidence from Audi that we are not going to face continuing complexity in owning them through time would be some small victory.
I would like to see Audi continue to innovate with truly eco-friendly cars for the mass market. Things like hydrogen fuel cells, kinetic energy recovery, solar and next generation electric technology. This letter is just a simple plea to not simultaneously make the old cars disappear from sight entirely - as to do so would be utterly disrespectful to the heritage created by Audi in these fantastic cars.
With their galvanised bodyshells, under-stressed engines, heavy duty suspension and supreme build quality – the only thing that makes the S2/RS2 difficult to own is how Audi appears to treat it’s owners as third class citizens.
There is a huge groundswell of support across the owners of these heritage models for Audi if they can be seen to be making positive steps to help us look after these cars. This means finding alternate sources of manufacture for the growing number of parts that would otherwise become NLA. The internet forums are very well connected across the car industry and manufacturing specialists in a wide number of technologies. These communities are more than willing and able to help Audi create a significantly better way to look after its heritage.
By creating new innovative ways to support the heritage owners, Audi will join a significant number of other manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Porsche, Ferrari, Jaguar and others who have recognised the importance of respecting their heritage. Done properly, this would be a new profit centre for Audi – nobody is expecting the cost of operating such a division to be taken off the bottom line.
Signed, the administration, on behalf of www.s2forum.com
have to see what we can sort I guess, look at what the Scooby community did to honour the late Colin McCrash!
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