German car maker Audi will shut down car production and cut back engine production at its plant in Hungary in the days before and during the Easter holiday, Audi Hungaria’s press officer MTI on Wednesday.
Normal production will resume after the Easter holiday, said Peter Lore.
Audi Hungaria Motor earlier announced temporary halts and cutbacks in production over the Christmas holiday as well as in the first week of February.
Workers affected by the most measures over the Easter holiday will be put on paid leave, Lore said.
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In America, Audi is now considered total crap. And Volkswagen, its parent company, is the second lowest ranked auto maker in the USA, just before last ranked Suzuki.
If you go to an Audi dealer in the States, you will see zero new car sales activity of the showroom floor. The Europeans are still pricing their junkers here like they were premium makes of the 1970s, whereas all US quality surveys (JD Power, Consumer Report, etc) consistently bring out the Euro-makes dead last, after the American and Japanese makes. On top of it, a German car costs quite a bit more than an American or Japanese one does, so you have to pay more to get less.
A dubiously configured new Audi R8 sports car costs upwards of US$115,000 now, at least that’s what the MSRP sticker says, whereas for less than half that price you can get a 2009 Corvette that will smoke the R8 every time. Not to mention that the long-term reliability of a Chevrolet is consistently higher than that of a troublesome Audi.
Another disaster they have is the new TT Coupe. That thing is God-awful ugly, weak, and underperforming, it is but a caricature of its former self. Compare that to the 2010 Nissan Z370 — well, there is no comparison.
Audi should shut-down shop, period, as all they build these days is trash. Even at the NY Auto Show this week, hardly anybody was gawking around the Audi stand. A sad sight, really.
@Karman
Americans are and have always been very nationalistic in their car buying habits (however bad the product) and that Audi & Volksawagen have been so well bought in America since the 50′s is sort of proof that the product isn’t as bad as you say??
America isn’t buying cars… period and if they are then the home grown, heavily discounted and in many cases government subsidised product will previal.
To compare any american produced car against any German one is a ‘no contest’ in terms of quality and engineering.
That Americans choose not to buy the product doesn’t mean for on moment that the product is bad in any way?
Finally.. Corvette vs R8…….
I wouldn’t know where to start in comparison of these two cars, because regardless of brute horsepower and straight line ability, the Corvette is still using 1940′s technology in it’s make up and I don’t think that’s a claim that can be made of the R8.
You need to remember that a good car needs to be able to go around corners safely, stop when requested and have some value after 20 minutes of ownership.
The Audi ticks those few boxes, but the Corvette… another matter altogether!!
“Americans are and have always been very nationalistic in their car buying habits.” MY TAKE: Nonsense. By and large, the Yanks have got a lot more brainpowrr goinng into the decision making process. They buy the highest rated vehicles, which are theser days the US domestics and Japanese models, most of them actually built in North America. Except for surprise showing Jaguar, which has tied Buick for the No. 1 quality position for the first time ever. SO, the bestOn the other hand, Europeans are so afraid of overseas competition, they assess huge import duties and other p[enalties on non-European cars. Which is why a Chevy Corvette costs exactly twice as much in Europe as in the States. Heck, even a lowly Audi TT Coupe and R8 cost quite a bit more in Europe than in America!
“Audi & Volksawagen have been so well bought in America since the 50′s is sort of proof that the product isn’t as bad as you say?” MY TAKE: Nonsense. Volkswagen is the worst European car sold in America by way of quality as determined by various owner satisfaction surveys and repair records, in fact only Suzuki ranked worse the VW did in 2008. And of the very few car brands you can still buy in America, Audi is the second worst. In other words, all remaining Euro-makes are rated higher than either Audi or VW. Audi USA is so dumb, they just came ouf with a brand new SUV here — right when those goliaths are finally put to pasture. The Audi and VW stands at the 2009 NY Auto Show are particularly sad sights.
“America isn’t buying cars… period.” MY TAKE: True. Instead, it is the AMERICANS who are buying cars around here. And when you look at the sales number tallies, the grotesquely overpriced Euroheaps and unreliable., always-in-need-of-fixing Euerojalopies are dead last. They cost the most and they ranked lowest on overall quality and reliability — what’s to like in them? As recently as in the mid 1980s, they were on the top of the automotive heap — and now, on the bottom.
Audi made a smart move shutting down its ops in Hungary. You can only fool the consumers so far.
“To compare any american produced car against any German one is a ‘no contest’ in terms of quality and engineering.” MY TAKE: Exactly. That is why even in China automobile afficionados pay hefty premiums for US cars. Of course, when a ‘Vette in Europe costs 80% more than in the USA, not much else can be said. And Audi USA right now is involved in six different class action law suits filed by disgruntled Yankee Audi owners against the company.
“Corvette vs R8. I wouldn’t know where to start in comparison of these two cars.” MY TAKE: Simple. An R8 in the States costs about twice as much as a ‘Vette, and has less power. And even though the Cortvette outputs more HP and torque, it uses less fuel in doing so in city, hwy, and combined driving, so it is greener than the Audi. And it comes with a much better warranty than Audi does. Which is why I have only seen two R8s on the roads over here in the past year.
America should sell their cars here. Then, they wouldn’t need a bailout…..if they are successful.
Is there a special tax on American cars in Europe, just like they have on European cars there?
Personally, I dont like the TT or the Vette! Both cars are for men with small dicks, or women with artificial tits.
Real men have a Bike.
Whereas I don’t rightly know about mountain bikes as apple-to-apple alternatives to 600HP, two seater sports cars, according the one respected US source on all matters automotives, Consumer Reports magazine, the “best” European car sold in America is the Saturn Astra. This is the same Astra, by the way, that GM-owned Opel builds in Belgium and sells all over Europe and elsewhere.
So, according to this source, the hihgest ranked European model sold Stateside is actually one made by a US car company’s subsidiary.
A number of years ago, French car makers were peddling their wares in America — you could get a brnad new Citroen, Simca, Renault, Peugeut, etc. here, just like in Europe. Then, when the Japanese started to take over the market with quality products, all the French car makers pulled out of the USA really quick, never to return.
Same with most of the Italina brands (Fiat, Alfa), once they were here – then they were gone. In fact, these days you can only buy three Italian makes in America: Lamborghini – and that is really nothing but an Audi any more, Ferrari, and Maserati. The chapest of these clunkers (Maserati) starts at over US$100,000, so it is not for everybody, to say the least…
Also, they never did sell such perennial European high tech makes in North America as Trabants, Wartburgs, Vauxhalls, Zhigulis, etc. Some German companies (MB and BMW) do build some of their models in North America and sell them here, but they still are ueber-pricey.
Well, what I don’t get is why there is even talk of having GM or Ford manufacture in the US the cars they’ve been successfully building in Europe. It takes years to retool factories, and the factories in Europe are not even close to capacity. Meanwhile, shipping is currently very cheap – if there is any demand, they should just ramp up production here and ship ‘em over.
Yeah, Erik. Also, the cars that GM and Ford now builds in Europe are sometime much better that they dump on the poor Americans. Like, the Ford models they sell now in Europe and elsewhere are not the same old lethargic ones that they still try to peddle in the States. And the Cadillac chauffeur-driven limousine made specifically for the Chinese market is not even sold in the USA. Americans at times get the short end of the stick from their own domestic auto producers.
“In America, Audi is now considered total crap. And Volkswagen, its parent company, is the second lowest ranked auto maker in the USA, just before last ranked Suzuki.”
This is strange: JD Power seems to disagree
http://www.jdpower.com/autos/ratings/performance-and-design-ratings-by-brand
Nice try, Anonimous. You are linking us to the JD Power performace and Design Rating survey results. So what? Who cares if the stupid thing can do 180 miles an hour on the autobahn — around here where I live, the maximum allowed speed is 65 mph, and if a copper clocks you at 73-75, you will get a ticket. Belive it or not, most American and Japananese and Korean cars can also do 65 mph on the highway, yeah. So, anything over that is fully lost.
The “design” part simply means that these grotesque Krautmobiles look good on a showroom floors — but fail to perfomar adquately on the roads and highways. The Krautwagons come with inadequate suspensions, wheels, tires.
The JD Power suvey you would wish to look at is the ones that decibe OWNERS’ STAISFACTION — both initial and long terms, as well as the number of repair calls per 100 vehicles sold. When you sell 100 units of something and altogether they requite 220+ repairs in a short initial ownership period, you know you’ve got stuck with some low-quiality Lederhosen junk, like the Teutonic Krautmobiles the German charlatans still try to peddle here as “luxury brands.”
No wonder that a Korean car manufacturter can give 10 year warranty with one of their new cars, for example, whereas the absolute longest warranty period that any Eueropean jalopy still peddled on US shores will come with is 48 months. Wow! I guess the idea is, give them the money (maybe in euros, no less?), then go, get stuffed with your luxury marque.