Audi announces new two-digit naming system (update on page 3)
08-24-17, 06:58 AM
#17
Lexus Champion
08-24-17, 07:11 AM
#18
Lexus Champion
Best thing I can say is at least they aren't throwing the baby out with the bath water, we still have A4, A6, A8, S4, S6, S8, RS4, RS6 RS8, Q3, Q5, Q7, its easy to identify which model you are talking about at least.
Could be much worse like at Infiniti, everything is now Q or QX with the number indicating the size of the vehicle, stupid, stupid, stupid idea IMO. Especially when you already have a lot of name recognition with things like G35, G37(sporty sedan/coupe), QX56(huge SUV), FX(sporty SUV). Or Cadillac, finally when people get used to CTS, ATS, SRX, you have to change **** up for no reason. Personally I miss the days of Deville, Seville and Eldorado, nothing wrong with making luxo-barges if they drove nice, looked contemporary, were well made, and reliable over the long haul(hello Lexus)
Could be much worse like at Infiniti, everything is now Q or QX with the number indicating the size of the vehicle, stupid, stupid, stupid idea IMO. Especially when you already have a lot of name recognition with things like G35, G37(sporty sedan/coupe), QX56(huge SUV), FX(sporty SUV). Or Cadillac, finally when people get used to CTS, ATS, SRX, you have to change **** up for no reason. Personally I miss the days of Deville, Seville and Eldorado, nothing wrong with making luxo-barges if they drove nice, looked contemporary, were well made, and reliable over the long haul(hello Lexus)
Johan de Nysschen copied the Audi naming scheme (making minor changes to avoid trademark infringement) for Infiniti and then did the same for Cadillac.
The problem at Infiniti and Cadillac is not the naming scheme but the wholesale change from one naming scheme to a completely different one confuses people for a while until they get used to the new scheme.
08-24-17, 08:55 AM
#19
Agree. It's one of the more thought out elements. I don't know if the TFSI part needs to stay either, I imagine that will go away at some point.
08-24-17, 11:36 AM
#20
Super Moderator
Why is the Infiniti naming scheme stupid? It is the same as the Audi naming scheme: Nx, where N is a letter(s) identifying the manufacturer (A, S, RS, Q for Audi, and Q, QX for Infiniti) and x is the number (single-digit for Audi, and double-digit for Infiniti) that corresponds to the size of the vehicle.
Q60, Q50, Q70
CUV lineup in size order:
QX30, QX70, QX50, QX60
Did I miss the part where the Q5 was significantly larger than the Q7?
08-24-17, 01:17 PM
#21
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
yes the letter soup to sound more techy is kinda ridiculous... turbo f? sport? injection? i guess they learned from bmw who has always had some long letter silliness... i remember the 635csi...
08-24-17, 01:35 PM
#22
Super Moderator
The Google machine says it stands for "Turbocharged fuel stratified injection". Basically Turbo + Direct Injection. But TDI was already taken in their lineup, so they decided to go with something way more complicated....
08-24-17, 01:55 PM
#23
Lexus Test Driver
What makes names confusing for the masses is when they name all their vehicles the same first letter. It's hard enough for the average (non-car) person to remember the first letter of a car name, let alone the second and third letter following. That's what makes Infiniti and Lincoln's so crazy. They all start with the same letter, forcing the potential buyer to do a long full line-up memorization. Audi seems to skirt around the problem by keeping the entire name short (two digits total) and changing the letter for their SUV's. But even with that, I do hear some people struggle with the brand's current scheme.
08-24-17, 02:22 PM
#24
Lexus Fanatic
This new system makes total sense and I think I agree with it. If the engine displacement decreases, how do you get the message out that it has more power. How do you tell the current A8 4.0TFSI buyer that the new A8 with a 3.0 TFSI engine is more powerful and worth spending more for?
08-24-17, 02:54 PM
#25
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
What makes names confusing for the masses is when they name all their vehicles the same first letter. It's hard enough for the average (non-car) person to remember the first letter of a car name, let alone the second and third letter following. That's what makes Infiniti and Lincoln's so crazy. They all start with the same letter, forcing the potential buyer to do a long full line-up memorization. Audi seems to skirt around the problem by keeping the entire name short (two digits total) and changing the letter for their SUV's. But even with that, I do hear some people struggle with the brand's current scheme.
infiniti chose to do it by category, Q prefix for sedans, QX for utes. mercedes has chosen to do it by category and size, pretty clever imo, so A, C, E, S for sizes, and GL prefix for ute... i'm sure it's not perfectly consistent, but now i get the new ute designations for example of very small: GLA, small: GLC (vs CLK), medium: GLE (vs old ML), and large: GLS (vs GL) - the number is tacked on for performance level. with the E300 having just a 4 cyl 2L engine, but it's wonderfully smooth and perfectly adequate.
08-24-17, 03:05 PM
#26
Lexus Fanatic
i don't see any of this as crazy or confusing, but sure, many consumers will never get any of these schemes, no matter how well or poorly they're conceived and implemented.
infiniti chose to do it by category, Q prefix for sedans, QX for utes. mercedes has chosen to do it by category and size, pretty clever imo, so A, C, E, S for sizes, and GL prefix for ute... i'm sure it's not perfectly consistent, but now i get the new ute designations for example of very small: GLA, small: GLC (vs CLK), medium: GLE (vs old ML), and large: GLS (vs GL) - the number is tacked on for performance level. with the E300 having just a 4 cyl 2L engine, but it's wonderfully smooth and perfectly adequate.
infiniti chose to do it by category, Q prefix for sedans, QX for utes. mercedes has chosen to do it by category and size, pretty clever imo, so A, C, E, S for sizes, and GL prefix for ute... i'm sure it's not perfectly consistent, but now i get the new ute designations for example of very small: GLA, small: GLC (vs CLK), medium: GLE (vs old ML), and large: GLS (vs GL) - the number is tacked on for performance level. with the E300 having just a 4 cyl 2L engine, but it's wonderfully smooth and perfectly adequate.
How about simple names?
When the American auto industry was at their peak, except for some performance vehicles with number or letter/number designations, the vast majority of vehicles were known by their regular names. And virtually everybody knew exactly what they were buying.
Last edited by mmarshall; 08-24-17 at 03:12 PM.
08-24-17, 07:31 PM
#27
Lexus Champion
How about simple names?
When the American auto industry was at their peak, except for some performance vehicles with number or letter/number designations, the vast majority of vehicles were known by their regular names. And virtually everybody knew exactly what they were buying.
When the American auto industry was at their peak, except for some performance vehicles with number or letter/number designations, the vast majority of vehicles were known by their regular names. And virtually everybody knew exactly what they were buying.
08-24-17, 11:20 PM
#28
What makes names confusing for the masses is when they name all their vehicles the same first letter. It's hard enough for the average (non-car) person to remember the first letter of a car name, let alone the second and third letter following. That's what makes Infiniti and Lincoln's so crazy. They all start with the same letter, forcing the potential buyer to do a long full line-up memorization. Audi seems to skirt around the problem by keeping the entire name short (two digits total) and changing the letter for their SUV's. But even with that, I do hear some people struggle with the brand's current scheme.
08-24-17, 11:27 PM
#29
The theory is that real, identifiable names, such as Camry or Accord or Cavalier allow you to identify with a particular model but alphanumeric names allow you to identify with the brand. Manufacturers want you to identify with the luxury brand and not with any one particular model of the brand. Selling the brand and what the brand offers you is the objective. The German luxury brands have become particularly good at this.
That being said, it is a lot more practical now days for Benz and BMW to just make everything alpha-numeric with them having so many model variations. One interesting thing is that BMW has actually introduced words in some of their model names, with the "Gran Coupe" moniker for their sloped back, swoopy sedans.
Last edited by Aron9000; 08-24-17 at 11:30 PM.
08-25-17, 05:10 AM
#30
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
there's simply too many models, too much of a challenge with coming up with names as well as making sure they translate globally, and too much inconsistency in having names.
obviously many existing currently successful names will endure like accord and camry... but i don't think crv 'name' has hurt that model.
obviously many existing currently successful names will endure like accord and camry... but i don't think crv 'name' has hurt that model.