Doesn't change the fact that the Japanese premium brands were and probably still are making much more reliable vehicles than the Germans. Starting around 2001 the A6 became a very trendy car. The problem was that it was prone to breaking, expensive to fix, and more expensive to insure. Sure it was fun to drive and had cool red lights in the dash but it wasn't a good value. You don't see many old A6's on the road anymore but you see a ton of Lexus, Infiniti, and Acura of the same vintage.