April 15, 2006

The Audi TT Coupe.

I love my Audi TT Coupe:



But look, they've redesigned it!



They've destroyed its charm. Look at those sharp ridges. Look at how they've tried to make it resemble the other cars that are around today -- all those ugly, ordinary, "angry" cars. There are so few cars that I like enough even to take a second look. Now, I have to cross the model I love off the list. It's hard for me to think of a car to be interested in now. I can only hope that styles change by the time the lease on my car expires.

22 comments:

dirty dingus said...

So stick with the old version and remain smug when you see all the suckers who've spent thousands of dollars on a new ugly one.

In a while I have no doubt that Audi will re-re-design it and you can buy a nice one again.

Mind you it has to be said that every time I visit America I am staggered by the sheer ugliness of the cars and trucks so maybe you'll have to get special European versions...

Ann Althouse said...

I am willing to settle for a Porsche.

Ann Althouse said...

Except a Porsche can't be driven here in the winter!

I really don't know what I'm going to do.

Palladian said...

Get a Pious!

Michael said...

I just got a 350Z roadster.

Nice little upgrade from my previous Miata.

Ruth Anne Adams said...

My detail-ometer is off. What exactly did they change that made it look so bad now?

Bruce Hayden said...

It looks a lot more like the other newer Audis from the side now. They have moved a little to boxy from bulbous or more rounded since about 96. They really aren't boxy, it is just those creases on the side allude to that, and that is where I am seeing the family resemblence.

Before, it was iconic. Remember, this was the woman who drove a (new) Beetle until it was totalled out last year.


When I was still in AZ a lot, I figured my next car would be a Boxer. Not quite as Porsche looking as the rest of them, and probably almost looking like something Ann would drive. But if I stay back here in CO, I think it will be another Audi, but more likely a wagon than Ann's TT. I just carry too much stuff, mostly sports equipment and the like, for a sedan these days, and a TT or Boxer just wouldn't give me what is inadequate already.

My family has been doing Audis for a bit over 20 years now because they are so good in the snow, etc. Got stuck a little last winter a couple of times, and just punched in the differential lock, and powered right out. Also, a couple of times a year, I will get one wheel into something slick, and instead of losing it, will use the other 3 to power right out, at 75 mph. The problem is that you get so used to that, that it is dangerous to drive a normal care anymore in those conditions.

J said...

Why are you leasing a car?

MadisonMan said...

There are people on my street who haven't had a car for 30+ years. Ann, if you're moving downtown, do you even need a car? Why not cab everywhere you want to go, and when you leave town, rent? You can run the numbers and see how it comes out cost-wise. No more insurance or car payments!

Ann Althouse said...

J: I'm leasing because I did a calculation and based on my low mileage, it came out strongly recommended as the better deal. My commute to work is less than 2 miles. It's also a good way psychologically for me, to force me to give up the car and get something new on a predicted date.

MadisonMan: I would even have a very valuable parking space to rent. That would make more than taking cabs everywhere. Maybe I will. I could be even more pious than with a Prius. I could sink into utter Madisonosity.

Ruth Anne: If you can't see it, it doesn't matter. Look at the roof line. Look at the ridges. It's horrible!

T.K. Tortch said...

Moves like that make me think of the The Mazda Miata, which has been around since about 1989. It's a good, classic, easily recognizable design & Mazda knows it. They just introduced the third barely changed variation last year. The most dramatic design change they've made was dropping the pop-up headlights of the original model in 1998 or so.

chuck b. said...

It looks like Madison has at least one Car Share program too. I did that where I am for awhile before I got my own car. Good for errands around town, terrible for out of town.

knox said...

ugh, the new one is ugly. (or should it be "ughly" ?)

It seems like anytime a car manufacturer makes a cool car that's *actually* distinguishable from all the others, they slowly eliminate all its unique features, until it's either ugly, or becomes indistinguishable from all the other cars on the road.

BMWs are hideous now, Subarus are less and less cool every year, Volvos stopped looking cool ages ago, same with Saab.

Palladian took the words right out of my mouth! : P

Kev said...

Ann, your TT looks exactly like my brother-in-law's (which, sadly, I've never gotten to ride in). I think his is an '01; what year is yours?

Ann Althouse said...

'05.

The design had been basically the same since '98.

Unknown said...

I cannot understand people's obsession with cars.

They simply get you from place A to place B. The only thing that matters is price and safety. Everything else is irrelevant.

Then again - I've never owned a car, nor would I. Who really needs the hassle?

Ann Althouse said...

Downtownlad: So you don't care how things feel and what they look like? There's no aesthetic dimension to life for you? If there is, the question is why do you exclude cars?

Pat Patterson said...

I saw the new Audi at the Los Angeles Auto Show and was struck, as were many others, by how much the new the TT looked like the Dodge Crossfire. So instead of the Japanese stealing design ideas from the Germans now the Germans are stealing from each other.

www.chrysler.com/crossfire/

cyberbini said...

Maybe it is a guy thing (aggression?) but I love the new Audi.

Ann Althouse said...

Halo: " "manly" redesign, which means sharp corners and boxy outlines."

Yes, exactly. I was thinking "penile implant." It's as if they think the people who liked it the first time won't notice!

Ultimate_Lawyer said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Ray The DBA said...

We just bought (Rather... pre-purchased) an Audi 2008 Coupe. She'll be here in September. It's like waiting for a new baby! :-). She'll be our 2nd Audi in the stable. Our first one is a 2007 A4 with the works. Pure class and elegance.

..and I agree with the negative design comments about American cars... There's no elegance, no subtle curves, no class... just a lot of pissed-off, angry lines.

Get over yourselves, America...

Signed,
An American