[s-cars] New Q7

[Theodore Chen]

i was a member of the shelby club, but haven't been to a track event for a while.  my mustang sits in the garage on race tires wondering when it'll get on a track again.  the spec miata sits, too.  somehow, racing and open track don't seem as important any more.  one thing i remember about the shelby club track events is that there were frequently a lot of non-ford cars - ferraris, porsches, vipers, BMWs, etc.  i remember when an NSX spun in turn 11 and backed into the inside wall at laguna seca.

and yes, the corkscrew is a section you have to learn and work up to.  driving a nose heavy car with a V8 and a penchant for understeer, i soon learned that the fastest line through the corkscrew was from apex to apex, and that aiming for the oak tree during the first turn was too much turning.  but the last time i was on the track at laguna seca was on a bicycle, at sea otter classic.  i went up the corkscrew from the reverse direction, and boy is that steep.  i had no choice but to get out of the saddle, even in a 39x27.

i wonder how hertz is going to sell those Q7s afterwards.  they sound like stripper packages, probably sold in europe and other markets.  too bad we can't get those here.  i would like a 335i without the 3600 lbs of road-hugging weight and $50k price tag.  i wonder what the new B8 S4 will cost.  with a new biturbo V6 and audi's new front-midship drivetrain configuration, it should be a fun car to drive.  i hope it won't be too heavy.

what's wrong with the PCH?  i always like driving on that road as long as there wasn't traffic (which unfortunately is most of the time).  which section were you driving on?

-teddy


----- Original Message ----
From: Lee Levitt <lee at wheelman.com>
To: s-car-list at audifans.com
Sent: Monday, February 18, 2008 10:38:50 PM
Subject: Re: [s-cars] New Q7

Weird...not sure this made it to the list as my email account was FUBAR.

Sorry if this is a repeat...

Lee


>Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2008 23:50:14 -0500
>To: Theodore Chen <tedebearp at yahoo.com>, s-car-list at audifans.com
>From: Lee <Levitt>
>Subject: Re: [s-cars] New Q7
>
>Teddy,
>
>Thanks, yes I was in Palo Alto yesterday. Actually was in Sausalito 
>on Saturday, looks like a wonderful place to watch a bike race.
>
>The race was great...it was awesome seeing nothing but people and 
>bikes on University Drive in downtown Palo Alto. Spend some time in 
>the VIP tent overlooking the finish...that was pretty cool. Go CSC! :)
>
>Driving down the PCH today, I saw signs for the bike race later 
>later this week. Holy shit, I had a 2 hour white knuckle drive in 
>the Q7, can't freakin imagine a pro bike peloton on that road.
>
>Stayed in Monterey yesterday, stopped by Laguna Seca today. The 
>Shelby Club was out playing. They let us into the paddocks...we 
>wandered around for a while, all sorts of interesting machinery in 
>attendance (very few Mustangs, in fact). An Audi TT cabrio, a coupla 
>Porsches, a late model Ferrari (430?) in full race kit.
>
>We then took the Q7 to the top of the hill, scared my wife and kids 
>a bit at an approach that gave us only sky (facing the back turn up the hill).
>
>The Q7 is really growing on me...it is a wonderful platform, very 
>comfortable and well laid out. I really did not enjoy the drive down 
>the PCH, but was very happy to be in an Audi.
>
>Only two issues with the Q7 -- the first is that it is a little more 
>complicated than I'd like. Sure, I could figure it out, but I'm 
>looking for a car for my wife, not me, and she'd never get the radio 
>to change stations.
>
>Second, side and rearward visibility is not up to typical Audi 
>standards. Much better than most other vehicles of this (or smaller) 
>size, but there were a couple of times that a second look found a 
>car that was in my blind spot. Really scary to think that people 
>drive these without knowing they need to take the second look!
>
>The rear seats are okay, but a bit small. My 15 YO daughter enjoyed 
>riding in the back, but it takes a little doing to get in/out, not 
>at all like a minivan. Fine for occasional seating....
>
>The Hertz rental is a special config -- no xenons, vinyl seats, 3.6L 
>engine, Sat radio, no adjustable suspension, no nav, etc. It does 
>have the wonderful full length (dual) skylights. Suspension is not 
>quite taut enough for the highway, and a bit too taut for any real 
>offroading (although the adjustable suspension might be better offroad.)
>
>Quite interesting how much attention this truck gets. It does turn 
>quite a lot of heads, even in affluent car-crazy neighborhoods, and 
>the one I'm driving is a simple white one without 22" chrome wheels.
>
>Lee
>
>At 01:02 PM 2/18/2008, Theodore Chen wrote:
>>lee, my reply to your email address bounced.
>>
>>i was at the tour of california prologue yesterday.  were you 
>>there?  i haven't seen this many people on palm drive since 
>>gorbachev came to stanford in '89 , during my junior year.
>>
>>i wanted to make sure you know that monday's stage is sausalito to 
>>santa rosa, not palo alto.  just in case you show up in palo alto 
>>and wonder where everybody is.  :)
>>
>>i'm going to try to catch the wednesday stage in san jose.  my wife 
>>is off that day, so i may take a few hours off to go watch.
>>
>>is that Q7 a 4.2 or 3.6?  my brother was thinking about getting 
>>one.  how does the third row look?  is it usable?
>>
>>-teddy
>
>Lee Levitt
>'01 A4 1.8t quattro avant
>''99 A6 quattro avant
>'97 A6 quattro avant
>'96 A6 quattro avant

Lee Levitt
'01 A4 1.8t quattro avant
''99 A6 quattro avant
'97 A6 quattro avant
'96 A6 quattro avant 

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