Audi fake exhaust pipes are going away

Audi is getting out of its annoying habit of fitting its internal-combustion-powered vehicles with aggressively-fake exhaust pipes because of customer feedback. It’s bad news for people who like complaining on the internet, but good news for folks who like clean design. The trend will kick off with the all-new Audi A5.

As it turns out, Audi buyers weren’t thrilled with the German automaker’s decision to mount fake exhaust tips to the rear bumper that aren’t actually connected to the real exhaust system. In an interview with Auto Express, a spokesperson for Audi said, “All PPC (Premium Platform Combustion) cars will have ‘hot’ tailpipes; functional tailpipes.” Oh, happy days.

It isn’t just Audi that has been grafting fake tailpipes onto its cars bumpers even though they aren’t actually connected to anything. Apparently, this trend stems from the idea of making exhaust system design less complex, safety concerns from having a hot metal tube so close to a whole lot of plastic trim, general aesthetic reasons and – of course – financial reasons, according to Auto Express.

There’s just one problem with this design choice: everybody hates it. I mean it. Everybody. I polled the entire world and everyone said it stinks. Audi told the magazine that “customer feedback” is the reason for the change, adding “It’s for the design.” Who says regular people like you and I can’t make a difference?

Here’s a little more on Audi’s move to rid the world of fake exhaust pipes, from Auto Express:

While there’s no confirmation the new Audi “hot tailpipe” design policy will manifest itself on the maker’s smaller, MQB-based models, all of the larger PPC-platform Audis will get functional exhaust tips going forward. That starts with the A5, and will presumably include the forthcoming Q5, A7 and Q7 models, plus any future successor to the A8, which is likely to be badged A9.

In a similar vein, the decision to remove the fake pipes from its petrol models means that Audi’s EVs will feature a cleaner rear end, free from ICE-mimicking visual trickery. This is already the case with the Q4, Q6 and Q8 e-tron models, and is expected to carry over to the forthcoming A6 e-tron due soon.

Listen, I know this isn’t the biggest deal in the world, but it’s nice to see an automaker actually listening to feedback from the public and making a change. Perhaps this will ring in a new era of getting rid of fake stuff on cars (like vents, etc) that don’t need to be there. I doubt it, but a boy can dream.

A version of this article originally appeared on Jalopnik.

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