Why Qwagons rule.

[dmiller@iea.com (Doug Miller)]

Lately I've had to justify why, in a year I could buy almost any car I
wanted, I chose a beautiful jet black A6 Q Wagon.  Many of my motoring
buddies felt I'd lost my zest for four wheel drifts and backroad cruising
for its own sake.  Finishing a 3500 mile roundtrip from N. Idaho to LA and
back via Reno last night, I appreciated anew the qualities of my 6 week old
steed.

Herewith, I lay out why wagons are superior to the spacially impaired
sedans most of you listers pilot:

1.      My wagon has more progressive rear springs to handle its larger
cargo capacity, which leads to a firmer unladen feel than the A6 sedans I
test drove.

2.      While adding slightly more weight, the wagon f/r balance is closer
to 50/50 than the sedan due to the weight being carried on the rear axle.

3.      Of course, I can carry larger objects than the sedan.

4.      And, I can also carry 7 people, vs 5 in the sedan.

5.      And, the longer roof allows me to place roofrack crossbeams farther
apart for a longer load like our windsurfers, or a pair of kayaks.

6.      The wagon adds a center rear head restraint the sedan does not have.

7.      While traveling, my copilot can get to anything in the vehicle. As
in "Honey, could you crawl back and grab the camera?" without the need to
stop and get in the trunk.

8.      When my back window gets grimy, I can hit the washer/wiper.

9.      The nifty sunscreen that pulls up over the back window doubles as a
great "high beam blocker" when traveling at night.  That idiot you just
passed with the KC Hiliters and high beams on because you flashed him to
move out of the left lane is reduced to a mere shadow of his former
intensity. It actually seems to discourage them as their beams reveal not
the back of their intended victim's head, but a nice panel of perforated
sunscreen and they turn off the lights and quit following.

10.     On the really long roadtrips we are fond of, there is enough load
floor length (close to 7' with the front seats moved forward) to sleep very
comfortably back there.  Incredibly, the load floor is over a foot longer
than our LandCruiser due to a more clever seat folding design.  The week we
got it, we brought home a 6 foot dining room table (legs not mounted) and 5
formal wood chairs with the hatch shut. Try that in a sedan.

11.     And finally, you have not lived until you've backed your wagon up
to a drive-in movie screen and watched the movie stretched out with
blankets, pillows, and your sweetie.


Now, I don't intend to demean the sedan species, but it's pretty clear to
me that a wagon gives up nothing in vehicle dynamics, and gains
significantly in motoring pleasure.  Think what a different country this
would be if our forefathers had tried to settle the West in covered
SEDANS.....:)

(sound of scuttling for cover and donning the Nomex suit)

Yours in discerning the truths of motoring bliss,

Doug Miller
dmiller@iea.com
97A6Q Wagon, 93 LandCruiser w/diff locks (and well used skidplates), 71
LeMans Sport V8 Convertible. Cannondale Super V 900 Comp.