THIRD TIME'S A CHARM; Audi believes its A3 will fly where others failed.

Byline: J.P. VETTRAINO Listening to Audi's presentation at the chichi Monte Carlo Beach Club, attention wanes and thoughts drift back toward years well spent, or not... When was that again? A rainy fall day in Munich, probably 1994, when we heard a similar pitch from BMW. The time was right for the 318ti, a $20,000 hatchback with every- thing that makes a Bimmer a Bimmer.

Then, right here on the Cote d'Azur in the winter of 2001, it was Mercedes-Benz. The weather was cool, but the C-Class sport coupe was hot. The $25,000 three-door C230 would be the ticket for ambitious twenty- ...

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