German cars in Germany - impressions

[DeWitt Harrison]

Based on a limited amount of driving (maybe 800 km) in Germany
over the last couple of weeks and some rough and ready statistical
messing around, my wife and I were somewhat disappointed in
Audi's representation on the roadways. While cruising at a slow
140 to 150 km/h in the right lane, we tallied the marques of cars
going past in the left lane. Ratios for only Audi, BMW and Mercedes:
for each Audi there were 2 BMWs and 4 Mercedes. In general,
the real Autobahn Stormers, those cars flying past carrying significant
speed where primarily big Mercedes and frequently BMWs. Otherwise,
they were Porsches or an exotic with an occasional "other." I had
expected to see S4s and such screaming past but no. Fast Audis
were hard to spot in the Fatherland. Also we saw many more Audis,
proportionately, out in the boondocks and villages than in the big
cities. All in all, it was a letdown for me.

The roads were great, though, except the time it took us 5 hours
to travel the 100 km(?) between Frankfurt and Wurtzburg on the A3
after picking up the rental at the airport. The word "Stau" (traffic jam
or back-up) was the first new addition to our German vocabulary
on the trip. Well actually there was the business of sorting out the
difference between Ausgang and Ausfahrt in the parking garage.

DeWitt Harrison
88 5kcstq