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Is heritage and history everything? I'm wondering if anyone has theories on why no one has ever bought Audi's flagship. When it first came out in 1997, I thought the A8 was pretty cool. It was all-aluminum, the only one with all-wheel-drive (still a novelty at the time), and being modeled after the A4, it looked the best to me. It had a V8 and a nice interior, so it did everything right, right?

Ditto the 2004 version, which ain't selling so hot either. Heck, until I looked in my car magazine archives, I didn't know it had a predecessor between 1990-1996 called the Audi V8. (I'm not sure I've ever seen one in person.) The A4 has always sold like mad, and the A6 decently, so what's the deal: will no one pay $70,000 for anything with an Audi label on it?

Is Audi stuck in an upper-middle class rut that limits them from ever flying the high skies with Bimmers/Benzes/Lexi? Will they forever have to settle for little-league luxury like Acura?

The only explanation I can think of is that mid-80s 60 Minutes report about unintended acceleration that fouled up their engineering/safety reputation. But that was almost 20 years ago, and Audis are damn safe. So where's the justice, people?
 

I agree with you that the A8 is a great car in its category and you would think it'd sell better.  But I think BMW and Mercedes-Benz may have too much of a strangle hold on that market segment.  

It could be worse.  No one buys Q45s either (while the G35 breaks the company through new sales records each year), meaning no one will even pay 50 grand for an Infiniti.

I think that car looks real nice..I've always liked them.  I hear Howard Stern rave about his all the time.

That said, whenever I have a car buying discussion, the A8 never, ever comes up.

Could it be as simple as poor marketing?  I see ads constantly for many high priced cars (Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Porsche, etc), and a ton of ads for the A4, but never for the A8.  

Hey, you think those guys are hurtin?  Kia can't even sell Amantis, meaning Kia's mental market limit tops out at $20,000.  Hmm, come to think of it, I wouldn't pay $20.000 for a Kia.

There has never been a 7-series or S-class commercial either, so that can't be it...  

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Who wants to pay 50-70k for a car that people will mistake for a 35k A4. A 7 series and S class has a lot to do with status. I like the car myself, but would rather pay the money for a BMW or Merc instead. They should probably try a little marketing to start with. They have to get the name and image out there.