The good, bad and the ugly

[Shaun Mullen <smullen@philly.infi.net>]

I'm back home after a rather harrowing encounter with Hurricane Fran,
which trashed a goodly portion of North Carolina.  No electricity for
four days and still no phone when I left Chapel Hill, NC, on Friday
evening, some eight days after we got Franed.  So it was little surprise
I had over 700 e-mail messages, most from quattroheads, when I was
finally able to get back on line.  Some disparate thoughts . . .

(1.) A not-so-mighty oak took out the deck on my kids' house, but spared
the house itself.  An oak on the other side of the house crashed into a
smaller black walnut on its way down, which sent the oak ever so
slightly away from a certain rendezvous with my '92 100CSQW and my
hosts' '95 T5R Volvo sedan and '93 245 Classic Volvo wagon.

(2.) The torrential rains (over 9 inches as Fran blew through) sent
water that had been secretly accumulating for years under my carpeting
into both ECUs, rendering the car barely driveable.  There are few
things more frightening than putting one's beloved wheels into the hands
of strangers.  I dried out the car best I could and eventually found my
way to Marc and Bill at Crossroads European, a service and repair shop
on the Chapel Hill side of Research Triangle Park.  They treated me
royally, completing the dry out and ECU connector service that enabled
me to be back on the road only slightly the worse for wear (there is a
stale sweatsock smell that will take a while to dissipate).  If you're
ever in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area and need repairs, give
Crossroads European a try (5116 NC Route 55 South, 919-544-6868).  They
were willing to listen, took my unusual problem as a challenge, made me
feel at home and didn't screw me on the bill, which was quite
reasonable.

(3.) Some thoughts after a week behind the wheel of my hosts' hot rod
T5R, subject of much nattering in T5R-S6 comparos in recent weeks: For
someone like myself who drove Volvos for many years, including two turbo
wagons before I moved up to the quattro, the T5R is a revelation.  It is
solid, fast and big fun.  But it still cannot match my 100CSQW overall. 
The operative word is "overall."  I suggest that still will be the case
with the forthcoming AWD T5.

(4.) Finally, my two bits on the ongoing where-to-buy-tiresdiscussion: I
used to mail order tires back in the days when I thought P6s were the
cat's pajamas (ha!), but for the last 15 years or so have gone to a
neighborhood non-franchise tire dealer who can order anything (which in
my case is the latest iteration of the Michellin MXV4), is always
available in a tire emergency, and perhaps most importantly, has a very
competent person to do my front AND rear alignments, including thorough
test drives.  I could save a few bucks mail ordering, but these folks
more than make up for that in other ways.  Consider developing a
relationship with a local tire outfitter before you shop the buff books.

-- Cheers, Shaun