Audi 2008 Annual Report Download - page 36

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Service in the taiga
Whether a flat tire or damage caused by a collision with an animal: Audi’s world-class
service is also at home in the heart of Russia – and superbly tailored to local cus-
tomers’ needs. Audi mechanics’ workplace? Anywhere within 600 km of Novosibirsk.
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ovosibirsk, at the heart of Siberia: temperatures
far below freezing; “roads” often undeserving of
that term. Drivers here have the very highest ex-
pectations of their vehicles. Take 35-year-old Sergei Sorin.
His vehicle of choice? An Audi Q7. “A good investment,”
says the head of two dental clinics. It’s the ideal vehicle for
winter roads buried under snow – even in the city. As soon
as you leave Novosibirsk’s main thoroughfare, Red
Prospect, ruts in the road can be 20 centimeters deep. And
the number and size of the potholes increases with each
passing kilometer. The long Siberian winter takes a heavy
toll. That’s why Russians love SUVs. Novosibirsk, a million-
strong city far east of the Ural River – 3,300 kilometers
east of Moscow – is Russia’s geographic center. Here, in the
midst of the Siberian taiga (a swampy coniferous forest), a
Copy Julia Karulina
Photos Frank Herfort
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