Audi—German quality and engineering integrity 奥迪：德国品质与工程诚信

奥迪（Audi）是“德国名车三宝”之一（另外两者是宝马和奔驰）。它从属于大众集团 （Volkswagan）。贵为名车，自有其原因。自 1885 年至今，奥迪都是豪华轿车的佼佼者，不单有漂亮潇洒的外形，其内部设计豪华也是成功因子之一。更重要的是，他所追求的都是成功男性的梦想，像兰博基尼（Lamborghini）跑车一样！创始人之一奥古斯特·霍希（August Horch）为奥迪命名，其名在拉丁语中为“听”之意。奥迪总部在德国的英戈尔斯塔特（Ingolstadt）。1932年，奥迪合并霍希（Horch）、DKW和流浪者（Wanderer），成立汽车联盟股份公司。四环的奥迪徽章象征着四个品牌的联合。而大众集团在1964年12月收购了大部分汽车联盟股份公司的股票， 1966年年底，奥迪成为大众集团旗下的全资子公司。

然而在战争时期，这个做法是失败的。第二次世界大战期间，因经济萧条，奥迪曾一度绝迹，到1965 年才重返市场。今日中国贵为最重要的经济发展国，对豪华轿车需求日增，奥迪更被中国政府选为官方专用车，大大提高了在中国的身份和市场。个人意见则是，眼见很多专车也用黑色奥迪，虽然型号不同，但总觉得太有“官方”的感觉，缺乏个性。我反而喜欢兄弟公司大众，因为喜欢自己驾车，贪它的甲虫车变化多端，且车身细小容易走位，当然奥迪卖的是豪华房车，自有司机侍候。所以大家请不要自驾 Audi ，否则被以为是司机就不好了！

2000年，奥迪纪念馆于德国英戈尔斯塔特成立，里面摆放着奥迪过往名作，及其他“三环”之汽车作品，更设有临时区及永久区：前者展示最新当代作品，后者是展示1899—2000年间的作品。若读者有兴趣，可参考此地址： Audi Forum Ingolstadt, D-85045 Ingolstadt.

Audi is one of the Germany three most important auto cars. The others are BMW and Benz. Audi is under Volkswagan group. It is expensive because of its history started from 1885, with good performance, high quality of interior and beautiful exterior design, it is always mens' dream car! Just like Lamborghini that every man wishes to own one! “Audi” was named by the founder August Horch and when you translate it to Latin, it means “listen”. Audi is headquartered in Ingolstadt, Germany. In 1932, Audi merged with Horch, DKW and Wanderer to form Auto Union AG. The “four wings” of logo represents these four brands as stated. Volkswagenwerk AG acquired the majority of shares in Auto Union GmbH in December 1964, with Audi was fully owned by the group from the end of 1966.

However, it was not that successful during wartime. In World War II, the world economy slumped and it made Audi collapsed. Till 1965 it could come back! Nowadays China market is absolutely important as people of mainland look for good posh car and also China government commissioned Audi to be official car for the China officials and thus it makes the brand soar on market. It seems a lot of them are black outlook and too formal despite they have different models. On the contrary I like Volkswagan more as I like driving by myself and the design of beetle in form amuses me more as it is smaller and easier to control. Certainly Audi is a posh car and usually they have a private driver to serve their boss. And so you'd better not drive but hire one to serve you instead.

In 2000, Audi museum was founded in Ingolstadt, German. Inside the museum, they exhibit a lot of masterpieces and also other “3 wings” works. They have divided to temporary and permanent sections. The former displays current modern work whereas the latter displays their models between 1899 and 2000. If you feel interested, please refer to the following: Audi Forum Ingolstadt, D-85045 Ingolstadt.

Audi has got good quality of interior and exterior design, is like a nice shoe walking free with distinctive quality.

Audi 有良好的内外设计，就像优良的鞋子一样无拘无束地走动。

Shop in Hong Kong: 18 Harcourt Road, Admiralty Centre, Admiralty, Hong Kong

香港地址： 香港金钟海富中心18号一楼

Illustration/插图： Sam