Did someone really sit there and say that audi should learn something from bmw and porsche?
Let's take things a step further and say that perhaps Audi isn't into making performance cars as much as the Audi-haters make them out to be. They make balanced all-weather luxury cars & occasionally sporty all-weather luxury cars and they're damn good at it. I'm more offended that someone would put porsche and bmw in the same category than I would be if someone put bmw and audi in the same category.
At the end of the day, Audi makes a more capable performance car in the R8 than bmw has ever made outside of a limited production E46 M3 CSL. At the end of the day, the RS4 is still the fastest sedan that Audi or BMW has seen (the E90 M3 is not out yet). At the end of the day, why would VW make audi into a pure sports car brand when porsche is always looking over their shoulders and they own Bugatti and Lamborghini.
M5 vs. RS4:
http://www.fastestlaps.com/index.php...=4585874a284a1
M6 vs. R8:
http://www.fastestlaps.com/index.php...=458d5e1096b36
When the RS4 came out it WAS faster around a track than the E46 M3, even with its "poor balance, pathetic audi engineering" or whatever else you want to call it.
RS4 vs. E46 M3:
http://www.fastestlaps.com/index.php...=4585874a284a1
Even RS4 vs. E92 M3 isn't the trouncing you guys make it out to be:
http://www.fastestlaps.com/index.php...=4585874a284a1
I'd say Audi is doing just fine.
Don't put a company who's primary competitors are Audi and Mercedes in the same category with a true sports car company such as porsche.
E92 M3 vs. 997 C2S:
http://www.fastestlaps.com/index.php...=458be6dc37c65
... and it's not like the 997 is new, and it's not like the C2S isn't known as every man's 911. There's a GT3 and a GT2 that BMW has no answer for, nor are they tied like VW/Audi to someone that does.
I don't really know where BMW fanatics got the idea that BMW made true sports cars, nor have I met a non-bmw fanatic that thought BMW made true sports cars. They make sporty luxury cars. M cars are sportiER luxury cars.