Today we found an interesting post on a5oc.com in the RS5 General Q&A forum. A user Joshua Smith aka audi_s5 a potential RS 5 owner. Wrote a letter to President of Audi of America Johan de Nysschen about his recent experience at the Chicago Auto Show. We know the stress of Auto Shows and know first hand they aren’t the greatest place to check out the newest models privately. As we found out from the exchange that there is currently only one RS 5 allotted to AOA for Auto Show display. Due to the way people tend to poke and prod at the cars they always end up with broken interior bits and pieces missing completely. So we can understand their reluctance to allow crowds of people to sit in the car and poke around. Audi of America did the next best thing and brought the show to Joshua.

Here’s the letter that started the exchange:

Mr. Johan de Nysschen, I am the proud owner of an Audi S5, A6, and A3 and recently drove to the Chicago Auto Show to see the unveiling of the Audi RS5 to North America. I am writing this short email to make you aware of my experience at the auto show. I asked an Audi representative if he could open up the RS5 as I was interested in ordering a 2013 model this summer. He refused to open the car or even allow me to get a closer look at the features of the car. I expect this does not meet your expectations. In the BMW booth at the show I spent over 30 minutes with a BMW representative who showed me the M3 and the all new M5, which was also closed to the majority of the public. The main reason for my drive to Chicago from Neenah WI (3 hour drive) was to see and discuss the possibility of ordering the RS5. I am an active member and participant of the Chicago Audi Club in Illinois and Badger Audi Club in Wisconsin. I am not sure based on my experience if I am going to place an order. How can I expect to spend 90k without the ability to sit in the seat, or open the hood? (The car in the show featured carbon ceramic brakes. If this is an available option in the US, thank you!) A sincere thanks for all you do from a true Audi enthusiast. Sincerely, Joshua Smith

Soon after Joshua received a reply that I’m sure that he couldn’t of imagined. It comes as no surprise to us as Johan is one of the most approachable leaders I’ve ever had the chance to meet and it really shows in his response:

Dear Mr Smith, I regret to learn of your unfavorable experience at the Audi Stand during the Chicago Auto Show. I can understand your disappointment. Not to offer excuses but to shed some light on the matter, I would like to offer some additional background explanation. The RS 5 on our exhibit is a pre-production car. The number of RS 5 units currently available worldwide is very limited and thus for the US we only have one car available for the entire Auto Show season. The same car is therefore displayed at about 10 Auto Shows across the US. Since it is a pre-production prototype it is difficult to obtain replacement parts in the event that something is damaged. You will be astonished at what people do to cars at these shows. From experience we know that when left open a car is not presentable anymore after 2-3 Auto shows. Therefore our Auto show staff are instructed to exercise great caution with these specific cars. Nevertheless, the cars are to be experienced and thus our staff are also instructed to offer interested attendees to return to the stand at a less crowded time to receive a full walk-around of the car. ( You can imagine that once a highlight car is opened on a crowded floor, it becomes impossible to control access thereafter). I apologize that this clearly was not offered to you when you were at the stand. One of my team members will contact you shortly to arrange a private viewing of the RS5 for you. We will be pleased to truck the car to your home so that you can take a close look at this stunning driving machine. The car will be in Chicago until March 9th when it will be moved to the next Auto Show. I hope this will meet with your acceptance. Best Regards Johan de Nysschen

President

Audi of America, Inc

Not only did Audi drop off the RS 5 for Mr. Smith to check out for the day. But the entire Auto Show display arrived with the Audi RS5, S6, S7, S8 and A8 3.0T. Audi truly went above and beyond to not only help a loyal customer but to show that they care about all of their customers.

[Source: a5oc.com]