2 wd automatics

[Ameer Antar]

>I think the V8 quattro was the first quattro that came with an
>automatic (1990?).  Before that (and after), all the 5k's that were
>auto's were front wheel drive.  So, the talk about auto trannies
>failing were all fwd cars, not quattro's.

good point. the seals are common failure points as well as improper 
shifting or no shifting at all in some gears. I know someone who replaced 
an 5k A/T 3 times! But I have one on my '84 5kT w/ 190k miles and still 
works fine.

>And I think all-wheel-drive is less stressful on the driveline in
>general, since it spreads out the force over all four wheels.  I could
>be wrong about any or all of this.

I'd disagree, b/c no matter what, quattro or not, the tranny still sees all 
of the engine torque and hp. The power is only split up after the tranny as 
it goes to the diff's. And quattros weigh 300 lbs more, so I think quattro 
tranny's need to put up w/ more abuse.

I think the main reason they finally developed a auto quattro tranny was 
b/c it was put into the v8 which is a luxury sedan and in the US, luxury 
sedans ONLY come w/ auto tranny's...Plus I'm sure they could see some share 
of the market lost to those who can't drive stick...and now Audi offers A/T 
for quattros on just about every model...

-ameer