Re: If it WASN'T a Quattro - would you buy one?

[jafo@tummy.com]

In article <3.0.32.19961231122444.0075cfe8@mail.execpc.com> you write:
>Question for those with Quattros - new & old. If you were buying the same
>car today, and Quattro wasn't an option - would you still buyy the Audi? I

I would most definitely NOT buy an Audi if they did not have Quattro.
However, our purchase decision was that AWD was a lock-out spec.  If a
car doesn't have AWD, we aren't buying it for our primary car.  We'd
probably end up getting a Subaru, which unfortunately is a much inferior
car.  The Legacy is too tight on the doors, but I've gotten used to
that in the past.  The SVX or Mitsu Eclipse AWD are not the kind of
car we're looking for.

On the other hand, if BMW still had a 325ix or 328ix, we would definitely
at least have looked at it, and probably have been seriously tempted to
buy it.  Ditto for the Mitsu Diamante' and Galant.

However, it's not like AWD is the ONLY reason we're getting the A4.  It's
really the perfect car for us all around.  It's got a HUGE trunk (which our
90q20v doesn't have), it has auto up and down on the front windows (auto
down only on drivers side), it has the "fire-and-forget" sunroof, trip
computer fold-down rear seats (missing on ours).  About the only thing
I'd like more is more power in the V6.

Why did we get the Audi in the first place?  The Subaru Impreza was a piece
of crap (cheap though), and the Legacy didn't appeal to us as much as the
Audi did (for close to the same money).  Without Quattro, we wouldn't
have gotten the Audi.

Oh, another lock-out spec is the manual transmission.  It seems like Audi
is putting autos ONLY in a lot of their cars -- what's the story with
that?  Unless it's an "automatic activated clutch" like the new BMW
gearbox (not in production?) that has an "up" and "down" shift, but
automatically handles the clutch.  I'd LOVE to see that trans.

Oh, and if anyone cares -- our A4 arrived at the dealer yesterday, they'll
be prepping it Thursday, but we won't be picking it up until the 18th the
Jan -- we're kind of busy until then.  :-(

Enjoy,
Sean
-- 
 George Washington was first in war, first in peace -- and the first to
 have his birthday juggled to make a long weekend.
Sean Reifschneider, Inimitably Superfluous <jafo@tummy.com>
URL: <http://www.tummy.com/xvscan> HP-UX/Linux/FreeBSD/BSDOS scanning software.