Brutal honesty from one major automaker, and yet more promises from another
Audi is staying focused on what's important, while Tesla is moving the shell again.
"We lost our clarity, and as a result, we lost our character."
- Audi CEO Gernot Döllner
That's a pretty remarkable thing to say right before you pull the metaphorical sheet off of what could be the most important new car debut your company has fielded in a decade.
Sure, there was lots of hyperbolic waxing about the stunning design and remarkable presence of Audi's Concept C, which I went to get an early look at in Milan this past week. But it was the strikingly honest and frankly humble statements by the company's CEO that really struck me.
He stood up there solo in front of an assembled crowd of hundreds of journalists, influencers, and otherwise fabulous people who'd been invited to the event, and then he basically said that Audi had screwed up. Not that it had bet on the wrong horse in the ongoing EV vs. ICE war (though there was some tacit acceptance of that), he simply said that the company forgot what makes Audi an Audi, and that they were going to fix it not by adding more stuff, but by paring back and refocusing on the basics that formerly made the company's cars so great across its entire portfolio, not just the ragged RS edges.
I was frankly blown away when I heard that at the event. It was a stark contrast to statements made by an other autos CEO this week, with Elon Musk tacitly admitting he's more or less giving up on growing Tesla as an automotive brand, instead focusing on robotics and AI going forward.
Looking at the state of Tesla’s product portfolio, it’s hardly a surprise. It is, though, a great diversionary tactic from the brand's precipitous decline, especially in Europe, and such a very Silicon Valley way of keeping investors dreaming about what's coming over the horizon, focusing so far down the road that they ignore the train wreck happening around them.
Now it's entirely possible that this week's debut of the Concept C was simply theater of another genre, but the read I got coming out of that event was that Audi really does want to differentiate itself again, to establish the personality that many of its machines have slowly shrugged off over the past few decades.
Can it succeed? The Concept C is a great first step. And, unless my sports car senses are failing, I got the feeling this is something of a hint at Porsche's next EV, too. Audi CEO Döllner and head of design, Massimo Frascella, as much as admitted that the two cars will share a platform (more on that in my Edmunds deep-dive), but we'll have to wait a little while longer before we get official confirmation of that. Until then, it’s just speculation from yours truly.
For now, you can read my impressions of the Concept C here:
The Audi Concept C Looks Like a Retro-Modern TT With Electric Power - Edmunds
Audi's Concept C previews the company's next-gen EV aspirations - Engadget
Audi Concept C Deep Dive: Price, Size and the Porsche Connection - Edmunds
America's newfound Nurburgring obsession
My latest piece for Car Graphic magazine in Japan has hit print. It's a typically lovely issue, this time with a gorgeous spread focused on the launch of the Lamborghini Temerario. But look on page 13 and you'll see little ol' me musing on the burgeoning race for 'Ring times between Ford and Chevrolet.
2025 Hyundai Sonata N Line review
Hyundai's N cars are bonkers and brilliant, but let's be honest, they're perhaps too much of a commitment for most. The N Line Sonata does a great job of giving a taste of those quicker cars, but in an eminently practical and affordable package. My review of that is live at JD Power.
That's it from me this week. I'm back on a plane tomorrow, but staying Stateside this time, heading down to Texas to visit my friends at Capital One for a week of track driving and filming four new cars. More on that as those videos appear, but until then, be good and do well.