Sensual, elegant, techno-futuristic, slick, placid, and playful are all about stories and poems that take birth in the heart of the common man. This man on the street who was once thought to be undeserving of any of the wonderful joys and toys that the world created, is now realising the possibility of walking hand-in-hand with exclusivity. This obviously doesn’t stop at an iPhone or a Galaxy Note but goes into the magical palace of lifestyle enhancement where everything is possible. Yes, along with apartments that are no longer described as 2 or 3 BHK, even cars are no longer the homely 800s anymore. The Audi is finally for the Aam Aadmi too.
What? Is there some kind of a proletariat uprising anticipated? Have Lenin and Marx absconded from the classrooms and taken to the streets? Has everyone a free access to the national treasury? No, not really. All I am saying is that when people start realising the worth of a work of creative genius, they want to acquire it. Disposable incomes are reasonably high, the banks are kind enough to approve loans, and with this heartfelt need to embrace and appreciate the good things that life offers, people are buying.
Look around and you’ll discover that art galleries are increasingly selling paintings and sculptures to those who earlier would not step inside one… and these galleries are going up in numbers as well. Brand appreciation, brand loyalty, and brand acquisition have started making way for ‘premium’ to get annexed somewhere. Life looks good all around.
Stop while you’re driving for work and even without rolling down the windows you’ll notice that BMW 3 Series, Mercedes Benz C Class, Skoda Superb, Audi A3, Volvo, and LandRover aren’t the sort of cars that you sight only in certain margs of Lutyens Delhi or in the parking lots of imposing corporate houses. They are there everywhere and when I say everywhere, I mean even every locality from Kamla Nagar to Lajpat Nagar and from the concrete jungle of Dwarka to the yet scarcely populated sectors of GNOIDA… and yes, even the Gurugram of people still dreaming of their offshore stints. There is also a long queue of SUVs and pseudo SUVs, Sedans, and compact Sedans of course… but look closer and you might be able to discern a resolve in the eyes of their occupants to go out and buy a car that propels them out of their over-hyped niche and into the zone of exclusivity. They are all wanting and waiting to be prodded to decide in favour of a brand like the Audi.
They all seem to be muttering words of my poem that are almost like a prophetic mantra:
ek-car-ki-kahani… a poem in Hindi
But hey, I’m not recommending something like the Audi A4 that will cost upwards of 38 lakhs for no reason. I believe that this is the time when the marketers of such brands need to look beyond small and saturated niches and start creating larger zones of exclusivity. This is what the present days economics is all about. This is what the Aam Aadmi is anyway going to do if he isn’t already… and if you cut away from this flow you’ll sooner or later be in an arid zone of self-imposed padlocks.
The Aam Aadmi isn’t a walk-over and loves to know if what he might buy is really something that makes the Gods drool. Yes, the Audi A does that because it focuses on technology and not just making driving easier for a chauffeur. The Aam Aadmi loves to drive his cars and it really needs to be as sprightly and lithe as the Jaguar XE and come with all the rich trappings that the BMW series are known for. I was at the launch of this car in Gurugram and loved the sound of the smooth hum of the engine and could imagine the seven-speed double clutch helping me make a ride over the ubiquitous pot-holes and road scars like that a hovercraft would do over the sighs and glees of waves! Let me add here that even sitting inside this car made me think of the composed talent of Amitabh Bachchan… and this speaks a lot, doesn’t it? And the best part is that technology literally meanders through its rich curves and corners, making the heart fonder of its innards. The menu systems and connectivity isn’t without all the tech-trappings of Bluetooth that is present as twin links, with wi-fi and wireless phone charging galloping with ease of smartphone interface relays with both Android and iOS. The MMI navigation comes with a 6.5 inch colour display, a high-resolution 9-inch screen for the rear seat, and an effective Bluetooth interface that I have already mentioned.
The technology makes sure that all possible safety measures are included because, after all, life is precious. The car is way lighter than the previous model weighs only 1320 kg… which is not to say that safety measures are compromised but only to emphasize that this triumphant piece of technology comes with the latest in metal research. With the redesigned sleek headlamp cluster with LED daytime running head lights and tail-lamps, the exterior has the looks of a well-chiselled warrior who is alert and focused. Frankly, I loved the Audi A4 with the 1.4-litre petrol engine capable of delivering 150PS power and 250Nm torque.
So the Aam Aadmi doesn’t lose on any count – he gets the best in aesthetics and the latest in technology. The electronics architecture gels well with the engineering circuits and the man inside gets to experience only pure driving pleasure with none of the malfunctions of a badly administered society affecting his thoughts. The Audi insulates him well. The Audi has delivered. Again. And this time the car isn’t just a car, but poetry on the roads. A poem that even the Aam Aadmi can aspire for.
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To call an Audi a mere car isn’t accurate nor justified. It is an emotion as lively as the bubbles in a glass of champagne
What matters
Remains in sight
And the world moved on…
What stirs
Is what is right
The rest blurs and is gone…
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URLs to know:
http://bit.ly/AudiGurgaon
http://bit.ly/AudiDelhiCentral
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Arvind Passey
13 October 2016
