UDel

Of course Mercedes and BMW sell much more cars in America based on badge then Audi. Many Audi cars like the A4, A6, A8, are very comparable and offer the same options to competing and more expensive BMW and Mercedes models yet the Audi's sell poorly compared to them. More expensive BMW and Mercedes models are not offering anything much over Audi counterparts aside from the BMW being more driver oriented for them to outsell them so much so yes the badge means alot. I am not saying all BMW and Merc buyers buy on badge and they do make some nice cars but most of the people buying them are paying and buying for the badge and not the actual car. They would not even consider buying a lesser priced less prestigious brand or car because they want that Mercedes or BMW badge.

I do agree the high performance Audi RS models are way overpriced and that is another reason they don't sell well but they only make up a small portion of Audi models and sales. The R8 costs is a bit more then I think it should, I thought and was hoping it would be priced in the high 80's or low 90's but it is still a fantastic car.

The reason you have seen few S8 or A8 for that matter is Audi does not really have the badge and image to sell those fantastic cars in high numbers even though the A8 is much less then the S class. I feel the A8 was superior then the last S class and the main reason the S class so much better was mainly because of the Mercedes name and not because the last more expensive S class was such a nicer car. The S class just has such a highly respected name and history that they will continue to sell in high numbers even though they command a near 100K price tag.