No More manual for A4?!

[L DC]

I second your point, Vittorio.

In Latin America, as in Europe, stick- shift is the norm, even after markets opened up in the late 1990's. Automatics are still considered second-rate vehicles, especially in sports cars.

Even among women drivers, the balance leans much more toward automobiles with manual trannies.

South of the border, the mentality pretty much is that if you don't know how to drive a stick-shift car, then you're not a true-driver or as some put it; you simply suck and /or are not a real man.

Getting back to automatics, however, those come in handy down here in South Florida on rainy days.

During a very, very light rain fall on Friday, a 15-minute drive took me 1 hour and 15 minutes, despite no accidents; that's just plain ridiculous. I was driving my wife's automatic and my legs were hurting by the time I got to the destination; thank God I didn't take the manual tranny car.

In general, South Florida drivers are really some of the worst I've encounter. Sorry for running off topic.

-Regards



-LDC 



--- On Fri, 8/22/08, Bares, Vittorio <Vittorio.Bares at nuance.com> wrote:

> From: Bares, Vittorio <Vittorio.Bares at nuance.com>
> Subject: RE: No More manual for A4?!
> To: "Andrew Duane" <aduane at juniper.net>, "David Ullrich" <david.ullrich at gmail.com>, quattro at audifans.com
> Date: Friday, August 22, 2008, 9:16 AM
> Ever since I was a kid, I knew this day was coming in the
> US. I couldn't
> for the life of me fathom why anyone would want to drive a
> sporty car
> with an Autotragic tranny. It's a proof point of the
> *average* American
> view on automobiles, sad. Not in Europe though - that would
> take some
> serious marketing - or a significantly sophisticated paddle
> system in
> its place.
> 
> Vittorio -
>  
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: quattro-bounces at audifans.com
> [mailto:quattro-bounces at audifans.com]
> On Behalf Of Andrew Duane
> Sent: Friday, August 22, 2008 8:42 AM
> To: David Ullrich; quattro at audifans.com
> Subject: RE: No More manual for A4?!
> 
> 
> It doesn't surprise me, given Audi's stance on the
> A6, and most makers
> stances on everything these days. Sticks are becoming
> almost
> unavailable.
> BMW still offers almost everything in a stick, and on some
> models you
> can even get the hydraulic shifting DSG (I think?) gearbox,
> which kicks
> ass!
> I think Volvo still has at least some sticks. The V70-R for
> sure, and I
> bet at least the S60.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: quattro-bounces at audifans.com on behalf of David
> Ullrich
> Sent: Fri 8/22/2008 8:38 AM
> To: quattro at audifans.com
> Subject: No More manual for A4?!
>  
> Heard a rumor that you can no longer get a manual tranie in
> any A4 in
> the
> USA. True? How sad that Audi is giving up on stick shift
> cars. Boo to
> Audi!
>  Looks like I will never be able to ahve a NEW Audi.
> 
> -- 
> David G. Ullrich
> -Audiless for now
> -Wanted: 1987 CGT Triple White
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