Which company was first to introduce higher grade spinoff brands?
Toyota(Lexus)
Nissian(Infinity)
Honda(Acura)
VW(Audi)

 

I don't believe Audi isn't a spinoff of VW. It was its own company started through a merger of four car companies (the four rings) in the 1930s

 

yah. I wasn't sure about Audi-I know they are related though, as well as Porsche.

 

As far as the direct spin-offs, Acura was first in 1986 with the Legend Sedan (anyone remember that terrible 2tone silver / dark gray color scheme on the first Legend?) lol. The Integra was launched in either late 86 or 87. Lexus and Infiniti came to market at the same time, 1989 (although I think the Q came as a 90 model).

 

im pretty sure it was Audi. the four rings company mark has been around for a LONG time.

 

True the company lineage may be in that order, but wasn't Toyota making luxurious Celsiors in Japan before Lexus came to be? I know Audi's been around forever but I don't think you could call them a direct spinoff.

James

 

Acura was around before Infiniti or Lexus. Not much to show for it these days, however.

Audi was never really a spinoff.

 

You guys pretty much know Lexus, Infiniti, and Acura history...I won't go into it.

AUDI is the German abbreviation, translated into English, for the old Auto-Union company, which goes back to the 1930's, and made a long line of rear-engined racing cars, that, like early Porsches, tended to spin out with classic drop-throttle oversteer and scare the s - - t out of their drivers. It was loosely allied with Volkswagen and Porsche for years (the first VW Beetle was designed, at Hitler's directive, by Dr. Ferdinand Porsche in **** Germany in the 1930's). Later it became a formal VW division and made a line of front-drive passenger cars that were essentially redone VW Dashers...the Audi Fox, and later the 100LS.
More recently, Audi was the first European manufacturer in the United States to perfect the All-Wheel-Drive system...the Quattro....and offer it across the board. VW markets the same system as 4-Motion. Subaru, of course, was the first Japanese manufacturer to do so likewise here in the American market....perfect the AWD system and offer it across the board.
Audi has been very successful in recent years in the American market, especially with the new "S" models that have become SERIOUS competition for BMW...and especially the Chris bangle cars, but those recent Audis......just as back in the 1970's and 1980's......are still unreliable.
Audi was almost driven out of the American market in the mid-1980's when network TV did a story on the Audi 5000's so-called "unintended" acceleration defects. Even today, that story is still controversial, bu the company has managed to recover from it quite well.

 

Good post but not 100% correct:
Audire means "to hear" in Latin. The German equivalent is "Horch". The Latin imperative "Audi!", then, translates the German name Horch.

In 1909 Technical Director August Horch has a falling out with his company's business manager. "I know what I want" says Horch, and leaves the Horch works, determined for the second time to set up his own company. However, the HORCH firm manages to get a court order preventing him from giving the new enterprise his own name.

Later Horch is at the house of some friends trying to brainstorm a name for the new firm.
the host's young son says: "Instead of 'Horch', why not just call the company 'Audi'?"
__________________

 

I forgot to add that, today, Audi is considered by many in the auto press and industry to be the state-of-the-art leader in the look and quality of automotive interiors. With a couple of exceptions in the Lexus, Jaguar, and Bentley /Rolls-Royce lines, I have to agree.

 

Thanks, jaydunn......I remembered that Audi was an translation, but couldn't remember just what.
Makes sense, though....."Aud" as a prefix usually means hearing-associated.

The "Auto-Union" firm that eventually became Audi, was, as Dave pointed out, a "union" of four previous companies...hence the four rings.

 

yeah, but i think they designed the ls400 just for the US market back in 1989 or so?

 

Some more behind the scenes info. I won't go into Audi.
1. Acura was first. The Legend was Import car of the year in 1986. Acura was NEVER intended to go head to head with true luxury brands. Honda saw their buyers leaving their brand to go elsewhere and thus created Acura for the American market only.
2. Lexus debuted in 1989 but was in talks since 1980. Simply put the original LS 400 was built to be the greatest car every built. Lexus has stated they were glad Honda/Acura went first, it gave them more info/documentation to suceed. Lexus was created to take BMW/Benz head on.
3. Nissan found out Toyota was making Lexus and decided they had to have a luxury brand too. That is how Infiinti was started plain and simple. The head guy behind Lexus in the 1980s said when he finally saw 1 peek at the Q45s engine, he knew "Lexus won".
4. AMATI, was to be the luxury division of Mazda. When Mazda saw Lexus and Infiniti joined the gang, they wanted in too. The Mazda Millenia was built to be the 1st Amati. B/C Mazda was losing money and it took hundreds of millions of dollars to start another franchise, it was scrapped. The Mazda 929 was to still be built but when the Millenia came, they were both sold for 1 year and the 929 was dropped.
The Mazda 6 replaced the Millinea (And previous 626). There is no Millinea replacement.

 

interesting facts sick. i love how lexus knew they won when they saw the engine in the q45 (and i guess they were right )

and man, i never knew that mazda had a luxury brand name.... i always thought they have been so hard trying to survive

 

There probably won't be a Millenia replacement in the American market, either...at least for some time. Millenias sat on the lots for months....dealers couldn't give them away even with steep discounts. It was a nice car ( typical driver-oriented Mazda handling ) but not built quite to Lexus standards....the bodies were not as rattle and creak-free as a Lexus, and the transmissions were not as smooth. Probably the Millenia's best feature....and something that the public just never really caught on to....was the Miller-Cycle engine on the S model making 210 HP..which was not bad for the time.