We’ve seen a lot of new advertising campaigns lately from American and foreign auto makers, but the new campaign for the 2012 Audi A6 is not your garden-variety ad strategy, nor is the new vehicle a common design. A closer look at what the company is doing to promote this classy sedan is revealing some pretty interesting combinations of modern engineering, extensive market research and even the relevance of the ad campaign to today’s political world. The result is a comprehensive focus on road safety that appeals to many American drivers who know what they’re up against.

Generally, Audi’s new ad program shows how the 2012 A6 will assist its owners in handling a wide variety of roadway dangers. However, Audi’s research has gone far beyond that, including what the company calls a “road frustration index” or RFI that evaluates actual road conditions in America’s major cities. These include driver inexperience, driver distraction, and poor infrastructure. According to a September 15 press release, Audi is calling attention to some of the major dangers that exist for today’s drivers, many of which have to do with the current political environment and social issues around our collective use of the automobile. For instance, the press release contends that up to 30 million drivers lack the knowledge to pass a current exam in their state. Audi also cites numbers from the U.S. Department of Transportation showing an epidemic of texting while driving, something that raises road risks and pushes up auto insurance premiums in most states. Along with these challenges, Audi also outlines the “crumbling roads and bridges” that face American drivers, citing recent remarks from President Obama and others about the urgent need to get to work improving roadways around the country.

Another part of what Audi provides in their report is an answer to some of these issues, with some awe-inspiring technology put into the 2012 A6 model for helping drivers deal with dangers on the road. These innovations include a thermal imaging camera with night vision, as well as a comprehensive safety system that senses imminent collisions on the road. Experts call this kind of technology “reality augmentation,” where the driver gets visual data showing them the real physical scenario around them. All of this is in addition to a 3.0 liter supercharged V6 engine offering over 300 horsepower. Fans of Audi design can look for this groundbreaking high-design vehicle in their areas to get a car that will deliver, as Audi says, more “intelligence” for the road.