On June 12th, 2008 Niello Audi of Sacramento hosted the North American Launch of the 2009 Audi A4.  This was every bit as much car launch as it was a happening.  The launch was, in effect, a fantastic party that included a number of events to keep everyone busy until the new cars were unveiled at 9PM.

The evening started at about 4PM when the doors opened for the VIPs.  Niello Audi, one of our sponsors let us in as VIPs, which allowed us to get close to experts from Audi of America, Niello Audi, and the Audi Driving Experience, also one of the sponsors of the Event.

Cliff and Michael Buffer in the lounge...   Prior to the start of the event, we had a chance to mingle with the big names of the business.  Notice the guy in the picture with Michael Buffer...   The pate', cheese, wine, beer and other food was just great, and certainly a fitting a meal for men of this level...   On a more serious note, Michael was very happy to pose for a picture with me as he was getting ready for the weigh in of the athletes that were due to compete in the boxing matches, scheduled to start in approximately 60 minutes from the weigh in.

Prime Time Boxing was also a sponsor, and they organized 8 boxing matches for our entertainment.  The participants ranged in age from 10 to 23 years old.  Some of the young men that participated in these matches had some truly exceptional records, and many had won silver gloves, and received other forms of recognition for their skill and record.  It was great to be so close to the ring, and to get a chance to see amateur boxing from this vantage point.  But, I guess I've gotten ahead of myself a little bit.  You see, this night may have been filled with amateur boxing matches, but it started with the most recognizable voice in all of boxing.  Michael Buffer, of ESPN fame was there to issue his copyrighted and trademarked phrase...  We all sat there waiting for Michael to get us prepared, but prepared for what?

Michael, with that voice that says boxing better than anything else took in a deep breath and said "Let’s get ready to rumble". The crowd that had been anticipating these words immediately got ready to rumble.  We took our seats, grabbed our favorite drink, bit into an hors’ devour, and watched the action.

Well, between the boxing matches and the ring girls, combined with the fashion shows, short presentations by our sponsors, and the anticipated launch of the A4, we were ready for a great night.

The boxing and fashion shows continued for about 2 1/2 hours, and between 6PM and 8:30 PM, we heard from the Audi Driving Experience, Niello Audi, Prime Time Boxing, Sac Town magazine, Bistro 33, and SparcArt.  By the time 8:30 rolled around, there were about 3000 people waiting for the unveiling of the Audi A4s that were cloaked in black sheets.  At 9PM, the sheets were torn off and the new A4 was launched.

There were 6 Audis on hand for us to look at from every angle.  All Audis were configured with the 3.2L V6 engine, and the 2.0L Turbo was conspicuous by its absence.  These cars were crawled over the audience for the next two hours, by a very orderly and very large group of onlookers.  With 3000 people present, Michael Davis, General Manager of Niello Audi confidentially spoke about how Niello had now put on 3 events of this type, and he was now looking for us to help him achieve his sales goals, and to help Audi AG to meet their goal of selling more than 1 million cars in 2009.  Michael Davis also said he was eager to be able to serve all of us in the audience at his dealership in Sacramento.

All in all, it was a great party, and I'm sure I speak for everyone present that we're really excited about the new A4.  I for one am planning on ordering my new A4 in the next week or two.  Will the new car be here in time for the upcoming Precision Driving event at Infineon Raceway in October?  Maybe, but even if it's not ready, I'm still going to buy the car.  After all, it's a great car and the time has finally come.

Author - Clifford Musante