[s-cars] Truth vs. Joy

[Taka Mizutani]

I would rather buy a Porsche than a performance BMW model. If we stick to
awd models, I still prefer the Audi quattro system over any other system
I've driven.  My Corvette will run circles around the BMW's you mentioned
and a gt-3 will do even better.
As a performance luxury car, IMO the fugly cayenne does better and the
Audi's are much nicer to sit in, dealer experience notwithstanding.
I have other cars, so I don't need one car to do it all. I still think an s5
or s4 is a much nicer daily driver than a comparable BMW.
I'd also choose a diesel pickup or a suburban as a tow vehicle unless youre
towing bikes or something light.
If you're going to excuse the ugliness of current BMW's then an sti or
evolution is a much better performance car.

I guess we can agree to disagree, because I don't see any BMW other than the
x5m or the 535xi touring manual that I would ever buy.
Taka

On Mar 19, 2010 5:37 PM, <qshipq at aol.com> wrote:

 Taka
I'm an equal opportunity driver...  I enjoy my Audis, and I drive all the
ones I can, and have driven the TTS, v10tdi Q7, the Q5, NeuS5, NeuS6, the
R8, the R8v10, the RS4, and plenty of tweeked ur/neu S4's.  I also make a
point to drive the competition, the most obvious being cuts of the roundel
pie.  Say what you want about the X6, I say it doesn't picture well.  But I
got a wild ride in the X6M, and must say, I truly understand why, in spite
of the press (and your opinion) it's a sold out model.

A couple of nits, first the xdrive driveline is available on the 335 and the
535.  Drive a 335 with the dinan chip and oil cooler, you lay down more
pony's than the M3.  Those twin turbo I6 cars are really nice, in rwd or awd
models.  I dare say if you believe Audi has the 'right stuff' in the
performance department, you just haven't driven that many BMW's, or are
unable to compare them objectively.  The DSG versions of the BMW M3/M5 takes
any paddle shift of any VAG product, and shows them it can be done right.
Same with Stability Control.

Remember too, Gen V of Quattro will go Haldex and also GKN for the highline
Audis (GKN).  Fine and dandy, but GKN already is under contract to supply
that awd system to BMW, and it's in production cars now.  So, what will be
the Audi advantage exactly if the drivelines are identical?

WRT opinions on the looks, and subjective comments, that's the eye of the
beholder.  I'm not overly excited about much in the new Audi lineup, save
the R8.  The 5 coupes of the respective marques?  Maybe it's just me, but I
have a hard time telling them apart well.

Snow?  Well, I've been known to drive on ice on occasion, and I prefer the
center locked always, and usually the rear diff too.  But in my 14 years of
Steamboat observations, driving skill is a higher variable than generation
of quattro.  As Chad Clark will attest, Will Metcalf has done very well in
B5 and B6 S4's thru the years.  WRT SUV performance machines, again drive a
few.  The first time I drove a X5sport years ago, I fully understood why
most buyers turned in their 540's to get one, it did everything better, and
could tow 6000lbs to boot.  Contrast that to when I worked the Q7 Arrive and
drive?  I told the boys in the comparo tent to park the non-sport version of
the x5 v8, because it didn't make the Q7 rides seem 'better'.

I will agree with you that if BMW and Audi get too ego-centric in their
fights, Hyundai and Acura are going to sneak up and take the lead in AWD
performance before either german marque can react quick enough.

I fully admit, I enjoyed my R8 rides fully.  But in all honesty, the last
few rides that made me grin ear to ear were not Audis.  335i dinan, 135
stock, 135dinan, M5, X6M, M6 and just a month ago, carving Deals Gap in a
brand new E92 M3 DSG.  That list of cars, really makes me wonder what
exactly I drove that De Lorenzo didn't.

When the R5 is still trying to sprout wings with some 'new' quattro system
that's in the production BMW's already, and the TTRS awaits TTS sales to
complete 'first'...  I say maybe the 'quattro advantage' is losing it's lock
in the market.  I hope that changes, and really soon.

My .02

Scott J


 -----Original Message-----
From: Taka Mizutani <t44tqtro at gmail.com>
To: qshipq at aol.com
Cc: jc at j2c3.c...

Scott-
What kind of mind-altering drugs are you taking? Are you serious?

These BMWs you mention- th...