Quote Originally Posted by x_outpost View Post
I beg to differ. You cannot compare a M3 and a 328i. it's not just "extran insulation and nicer interior materials".
It's how everything works. You can put a V10 on a Civic, put a 1 foot thick insulation, it may run 0-60 miles in 2 seconds, but IMHO, it will still be a Civic.
The M3 is as different from the 328i as the Type R is from the regular Civic, or the Evo from the regular Lancer.

Quote Originally Posted by x_outpost View Post
If I'm buying a premium car, then I would prefer to have premium parts.
The reason why Jaguar was a flop when Ford owned them because they were putting parts from Ford parts bin.
I think most people care that when they buy something premium, it should look premium, feel premium, work premium and real.
Jaguar was a flop not because of the parts they used, but because Ford at the time was terrible at developing brands and models. They'd spend a lot on a car up front then let it rot on the vine with little follow-up, reengineering or planning.

Also, the X-Type was not a premium car using mass-market parts... it was basically a mass-market car with premium parts. A Ford Mondeo dressed up and re-imagined as a Jag. This is something that worked for Toyota with the ES, and for Rolls-Royce with the 7-series based Phantom, but it didn't work for Ford. All down to market perception of the respective cars (and because the V6 wasn't that reliable or great a motor.)

It's all about market perception... the same market perception that made the VW Phaeton, which is basically an Audi with a VW skin and a lower price tag, a flop. The same market perception that has people paying a fortune for Rolexes when a Seiko at a tenth of the price keeps better time.

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Audi is different. They use shared parts... but the A4 to A8 platforms are completely different from VW products, with a longitudinal engine layout... and the R8 is basically a cut-down Gallardo. And whatever parts they have under the hood, at least the interiors are great. When we started this part of the discussion, that's all I wanted to point out.

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Let me clarify. Premium purchases are silly in the same way all brand-new purchases are silly. You're spending extra for intangibles. Dad had a Merc. Lovely car, but not practical. Uncle has a brand new S-Class, which is terrific, but a nightmare to maintain. Personally, I don't buy. I don't really care if I'm driving around a ten year old Crosswind, it does what I want it to, and I don't really care to spend the cost of a house (here in the Philippines, due to the taxes) to project an image.

But like I said: As long as it makes you happy, go ahead. I can fully understand and even appreciate it. I'm just saying Audi's use of VW parts doesn't make it any worse than its competitors, who also share parts (or are starting to share parts) with cheaper makes.