Automobiles

[72gmc]

Incoming. Been exercising restraint for years and finally gave in.

Turbo? Love their dark grey shades, even though they're like a cloak of invisibility on an average Seattle day.

[Britishbane]

Thanks guys! Lionel - your 911 was one of my many influences in finally pulling the trigger. Matt - we need to take up the river this spring to wring it out.

Oh man! I'm there.

[Too Tall]

Hmmm you aren't that far from me.

[ldamelio]

TT - if you're around for Hell of Hunterdon (or Philly Bike Show next year) and fit in it, VSalon test drives are always available.

Dan - it's a 718S, they've all been turbo in the last two years. Controversy in the Porsche world when they went from the flat 6 to the turbo 4, but the current car outperforms the old one in every way except exhaust note. Only slight bit of buyer's remorse is that I didn't wait a couple of months for the GTS - 15 more hp and all the performance goodies standard. I shied away from a couple that would be fun but impact the potential to use as a daily driver. Kind of like 'settling' for Record instead of Super Record. Delivery on Saturday.

[Lionel]

Enjoy it Lou. The 718S is a fun car. I do not fit in it though :)

[Too Tall]

TT - if you're around for Hell of Hunterdon (or Philly Bike Show next year) and fit in it, VSalon test drives are always available.

Dan - it's a 718S, they've all been turbo in the last two years. Controversy in the Porsche world when they went from the flat 6 to the turbo 4, but the current car outperforms the old one in every way except exhaust note. Only slight bit of buyer's remorse is that I didn't wait a couple of months for the GTS - 15 more hp and all the performance goodies standard. I shied away from a couple that would be fun but impact the potential to use as a daily driver. Kind of like 'settling' for Record instead of Super Record. Delivery on Saturday.

Two things I bet you are on already:
MotorsportReg '|' racing, track day, HPDE, autocross, sport bike, karting & motocross events
Porsche Club of America |

Those care are so stinkin' fast at autocross. If I can make HOH we'll figure something out.

[Lionel]

Two things I bet you are on already:
MotorsportReg '|' racing, track day, HPDE, autocross, sport bike, karting & motocross events
Porsche Club of America |

Those care are so stinkin' fast at autocross. If I can make HOH we'll figure something out.

For TT to fit in this I hope you have the sunroof option.

[Too Tall]

For TT to fit in this I hope you have the sunroof option.

This is a BYO dealio ;) I've been second seat in those cars and had one as a loaner, nothing sighted nothing sunk. LOL EVERYTHING made for you normal is a compromise when you are Too Tall.

[mmoore]

non-sunroof cars usually have more headroom. ;)

[Saab2000]

Stopped by my friendly neighborhood Audi store again. Checked out the A4 this time, available with a manual and Quattro, with 252 horses.

But lose the utility of the hatchback and the headroom of my GTI, which has no sunroof. Why is this car unavailable as a wagon in the US? Don't answer...... And why is it unavailable as a wagon, with no sunroof? Again, don't answer.

The Q5 is built on the same platform and has the same engine and is available without a sunroof and is a hatchback. It's also not available with a manual, but it doesn't have sporty pretensions either.

Anyway, the A4 is available with a sport package and a manual. It's very, very, very tempting as a GTI replacement.

[Trevor]

I hear ya on the A4. They pop up as a CPO from time to time with a manual and sports package, which makes it around the same price as a new VW All Track SEL.

I wish more dealers had an All Track manual on the lot to test drive. I want something that sits a little higher now that I live where they don't plow as often.

Part of me wants to give up and get something more practical. Ditch the A3 sport back and get a Colorado diesel or Toureg Diesel. Neither come in a manual, but being able to smash into my driveway after we get 18" of snow would be nice...

[Saab2000]

I hear ya on the A4. They pop up as a CPO from time to time with a manual and sports package, which makes it around the same price as a new VW All Track SEL.

I wish more dealers had an All Track manual on the lot to test drive. I want something that sits a little higher now that I live where they don't plow as often.

Part of me wants to give up and get something more practical. Ditch the A3 sport back and get a Colorado diesel or Toureg Diesel. Neither come in a manual, but being able to smash into my driveway after we get 18" of snow would be nice...

The Touareg diesel isn't currently available, though supposedly there are some available with a fix after the diesel scandal. I went to the local VW dealership to enquire a couple weeks ago. They had two in stock, but both supposedly spoken for and were unwilling to do a search in their database for anything available nationwide. They were pretty much unwilling to do anything at all.

I'm probably done with VW. The local dealership is pathetic and appears to have sent their salespeople to the GM school of car sales, with all the cheesy clichéd questions and phony handshakes, poor clothing choices, little actual knowledge of the product, acting like they're doing me a favor to look up from their desk, etc. In contrast, the local Audi dealership, a block away and NOT under the same ownership, is a totally different story. Friendly, professional, knowledgeable, not patronizing in any way, etc.

BTW, be careful about smashing into the driveway after a snow fall. My neighbor did that recently and ripped the front air dam straight off of her Chevrolet Malibu. That's not a slam on the Malibu. It wasn't the brightest move I've ever seen someone do with their car.

The Q5 is built on the same platform as the A4 and has the same 252 HP engine available. It appears Audi is trying to push their wagon customers into this model and given sales of mid and large size crossover sport utilities, customers seem quite happy with these models. The A4 AllRoad is quite nice too. I looked at one. It's not totally my cup of tea but wasn't a turnoff either. It gets into Q5 pricing pretty quickly though.

The Q7 is, quite inexplicably, the Audi I want the most. It also gets stupid expensive very quickly. But the interior is roomy and oozes quality. Seems like a very, very nice place to spend a few hours per week.

[marley]

Why are you looking at a manual

Originally Posted by Saab2000 View Post
Well, my commute is once per week to Chicago. It's about a 3 hour drive or 2:45 with no traffic. I've been driving manuals my whole driving life, which is now 34 years of manuals, so I get their plusses and minuses. To me, crawling at 5-10 MPH for 45 minutes with a manual really sucks. Not fast enough to let the clutch fully out but too fast to just coast.

I get the driving engagement of manuals but I'm kind of over them. We'll see.

The best one I ever had was a Mazda Miata. That's a car I wouldn't mind having again to get it out of my system every couple weeks. But for my commute I don't give a shit about anything except not getting killed by the heavy truck traffic through Indiana and getting to the airport without wanting to pull out my hair.

I have a single car garage and it's not huge so I don't have the option of having a fun car and a daily driver. Gotta be all in one.


PS - 3 months with my manual VW GTI - the recent snow in the Northeast has confirmed my love for a manual

[Saab2000]

Why are you looking at a manual

Originally Posted by Saab2000 View Post
Well, my commute is once per week to Chicago. It's about a 3 hour drive or 2:45 with no traffic. I've been driving manuals my whole driving life, which is now 34 years of manuals, so I get their plusses and minuses. To me, crawling at 5-10 MPH for 45 minutes with a manual really sucks. Not fast enough to let the clutch fully out but too fast to just coast.

I get the driving engagement of manuals but I'm kind of over them. We'll see.

The best one I ever had was a Mazda Miata. That's a car I wouldn't mind having again to get it out of my system every couple weeks. But for my commute I don't give a shit about anything except not getting killed by the heavy truck traffic through Indiana and getting to the airport without wanting to pull out my hair.

I have a single car garage and it's not huge so I don't have the option of having a fun car and a daily driver. Gotta be all in one.


PS - 3 months with my manual VW GTI - the recent snow in the Northeast has confirmed my love for a manual

I know. I said I was done. Now I’m waffling.

[davids]

I thought that, apples to apples in terms of equipment, the Allroad was a little more than the Q5.

And clearly worth it since it's a wagon not an SUV.

[Saab2000]

I thought that, apples to apples in terms of equipment, the Allroad was a little more than the Q5.

And clearly worth it since it's a wagon not an SUV.

It might be more in a direct comparison but it’s now based on the A4 and not the A6. It’s a nice car, to be certain. As to the SUV aspect of the Q5, I know it is sort of one, but getting in and out and driving it, it’s really much more a tall car. I tested one and it was nice, but it didn’t blow me away. When I’m closer to making a move, I’ll drive several of their cars and try to stay open minded.

I know there’s some SUV antagonism among auto purists, but my buddy’s Touareg is pretty nice. I wouldn’t hate something in that category, at least if it drank less fuel.

[Lionel]

Jim, try the S4!

[Saab2000]

Jim, try the S4!

Probably too much car for me, but I could have a peek. I'm not really into the super car performance or price tag. One day I want a Porsche Cayman S though. That might do quite nicely.

I once road in a modified S4 in Lugano. It easily had more than 400 HP and this was nearly 15 years ago. It was fast, to say the least. But it also got to illegal speeds instantly. Since i'm not going to the track, performance like that is lost on me.

The A4 with the sport package would be a nice step up from the GTI in terms of performance and drivability without breaking the bank.

[marley]

And let us know what the final price will be, base starts at $51k. My brother just picked one up , really nice is understatement, but watching him find a parking spot away from everyone else is funny to say the least. Especially when we have come out to see that the most piece of sh*t car in the lot has parked next him. He swears that people do it just to f@*K with him. But I suppose if you have the cash to spend on that you will not be concerned with your first dent/chip :)

[Saab2000]

But I suppose if you have the cash to spend on that you will not be concerned with your first dent/chip :)

That is not correct. Not at all. Getting your expensive car chipped, door dinged or even keyed intentionally, as happened to me once, is enraging. Getting anything intentionally damaged is maddening.

I don't have an expensive car and I have always taken care try to stay away from others to avoid careless door dings. But people let their doors swing into the side panels all the time. It is maddening. Having money doesn't make people care less about their things. In fact, many people I know with money started with very little and have worked their way to prosperity and get really upset when people treat them poorly for their success. Successful people don't like getting ripped off any more than anyone else.

When my GTI was nearly new some asshole keyed it from the front headlight to the rear tail light. It basically happened when I wasn't looking and had no idea who did it. It cost me $500 out of pocket for the deductible and the paint was never as good as new afterwards. So yeah, I think people do care about this stuff. Just like people here with nice bikes try to take care of them even if they can afford new ones.



Back to the Allroad, here's one from the Audi website, heavily optioned and with the full body paint option. This is MUCH more attractive than the same car with the black plastic fenders.

Not a bad option, I must admit.