BMW and Audi are two of the leading German car manufacturers in the world. They are known for their rivalry in technology and ads, however, their rivalry has escalated to a new level. There’s something about our incredible Capitalist system that doesn’t simply breed competition, it inspires acts of war — marketing war to be precise. Think about Pepsi vs. Coke, Apple vs IBM and while I had spent decades watching BMW vs Mercedes-Benz and the Domestics duking it out with the Japanese, it seems in recent years, the blood between two German brands, Audi and BMW has done more than boil, it’s downright teeming over the pot in gallons. Case in point the latest “billboard war.” It started cheekily enough with Audi, fueled with bratwurst and bravado, posting an ad for its new A4 with the headline: “Your Move, BMW.”Now, I’d hand it to Bimmer who smartly fired back with a bold shot of a 3-Series with the uber-confident line: “Checkmate.”

Now it seems Audi wasn’t content to lick its wounds and took the game to another level, posting another billboard right next to “Checkmate” featuring its exotic R8 with the line, “Your pawn is no match for our king.”

Perhaps you’re expecting the boys from Bavaria to show their sublime new electric i8 and call a truce a with the line, “Touche?” Fat chance. Instead, just like the Germans did in previous wars, they brought out the zeppelin and flew it over the Audi, tethered it to the R8 board and with an F1 car proclaimed, “Game Over.”

Yet, something inside tells me it’s not “Game Over,” but as Winston Churchill once said, it is merely…”the end of the beginning.”