Audi = stupid? ....plus WRX drive.

[Steve Marinello]

Actually, he drives the RS2'ed S6 avant better than the GTI or anything 
else.  I got the GTI to drive myself for a while and the plan was to let 
him start driving it sometime later this year.  I was going to buy an 
A4, but the GTI has more rear leg room and I've got long legged kids.  
Didn't like the A3.

He's not going to be driving much for a while.  He turned 16 in November 
and I still haven't let him get his license.  We're doing the State Farm 
driving log bit to reduce insurance and eventually we'll take a driving 
class together after he does get the license.  No slow cars in the 
family at this point...even the Odyssey has 230 hp with an uprated 
suspension, Acura TL wheels and PZeroNero M&S tires.  He drives the 
slowest in the urq...he is now very aware that it has no ABS and no 
airbags and that it's 25 years old.

I was going to get a 'slow' car, but the more I drive them, the more I 
am aware of the shortcomings of the suspension and brakes on them.  The 
Mazda 3 seems to be a decnt option, but it won't hold up like a 
VW/Audi.  I've been looking at a number of used A4 quattro's as more 
realistic alternatives.  I've considered a used TT quattro...no back 
seat drivers to distract and after time in the GTI on Houston freeways 
in the rain, I'd opt for AWD the next time. 

One of my 'better off' friends did the unthinkable and got his 
straight-A, class president kid a new 3-series coupe when he was a 
senior.  The kid got one ticket in five years of high school and college 
and is in med school now, so it can work out.  My kid gets straight-A's 
, but he'd rather play Ultimate Frisbee, in the mud, than play school 
politics.  He thinks as much of that as he does of politics in Washington.

I've been talking with APS about a 'teenage driver' program for the GTI, 
or any other 2.0T...something that could detune the engine down to 
150-170 hp and reduce the speed limiter without reducing acceleration 
potential for 'evasive' maneuvers.  Not going to happen for a while, but 
it makes sense to me with their multiple program/switching 
capabilities.  But it's really the 'twitchiness' of the car, as opposed 
to the power/speed that makes it more difficult to drive smoothly and 
safely.  The WRX is a case in point; quicker(I think) and more powerful 
than the GTI, but more stable and a bit easier to drive without all the 
'edge' dialed in.  Actually, I like the R32 for the same reasons, but 
not the DSG.

Running at the mouth tonight...

endosquid???

Steve


Brendan wrote:
> On Tuesday 15 January 2008, Steve Marinello wrote:
>   
>> grabby as the GTI.  Just for the fun of it...thinking of the 16 year old
>> waiting to get his license, I drove the base Impreza with 170 hp.  I
>>     
>
> Wait, you were considering getting a 16 year old kid a new car...and a fast 
> one to boot?
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