List of 24 Hours of Le Mans winners - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I know virtually nothing about racing history, but am assuming Le Mans results has some impact on public perception of brands that translates into retail sales. (Otherwise, why would they bother?)
Jaguar dominated the 50s, and Ferarri dominated the early 60s. Did Le Mans help to cement their legendary reputations in that era?
Ford dominated in the late 60s, and maybe this gave credibility to the entire American muscle car era?
Porsche dominated from the mid 70s to mid 80s, and this must have been part of why Porsche dominated the bedroom poster market of that era?
So, it seems Le Mans results cements the legendary brand, even decades after the marquee has been eclipsed.
Here is my question. Audi has utterly crushed Le Mans like no other manufacturer in the entire history of Le Mans.
Audi has won 13 of the last 15 years. No one even comes close to this dynastic caliber of absolute unadulterated domination.
Audi should be hailed as the greatest sports car manufacturer of all time. The Jack Nicklaus. The Michael Jordan. The Wayne Gretzky. The Ted Williams.
The entire spirit of Le Mans is that of forging a reputation of bulletproof reliable high performance.
Yet, all I ever hear about Audi is that they are a maintenance nightmare, and that it is suicide to own an Audi out of warranty. What gives?