[V8] Dino in Italy...swooped up an S4 Avant!!!

[Murphy, Joseph-Colleen]

All:

Hope all is well, I have not been able to keep track of all the goings on in the V8 world as we have been busy moving to the other side of the planet.  We are settled in, relatively speaking, and as I was driving home yesterday (more on that in a minute...) I was surprised to feel that I was actually in a "rut", and had a "routine".  I can't for the life of me think of the last time I could say that...

...anyway, Scott Matus' postings are correct - he purchased my V8 5-speed.  As soon as I got it up to Seattle (Bellevue) I had Autohaus Vick put in a new steering rack.  I was hoping to have it done and the alignment complete before we left the USA, but with their superb efforts to find the best deal on the parts it took a couple days.  Anyway, the V8 is in Scott's hands, and hope she is performing just as well for him as she did me.

Coming over here I had many different mindsets for what my transportation would be.  The return to the USA was always a no-brainer, as I will "obviously" pick up something from Germany (wink, wink) and let her have a free ride to her new home in the good old US of A.  However, what would be my day-to-day vehicle?  Well, to make a typical "Dino" long story short (or short by comparison...), a Royal Netherlands Officer who works at the same NATO base as myself was just posting for sale his 1992 S4 Avant!!!  Needless to say, I have a 159,000 KM (yes, KM - not Miles...) Metallic 5-speed Inline-5 20v Turbo Quattro Avant waiting patiently for me outside my office.  She is in great shape, especially after I threw her in a reputable Audi shop here in Naples for a few items, and she more than holds her own on the Autostrade here in Italy with the Big Boys.  Had a run with a BMW 3 Series on a relatively sparse stretch and tapped 235 KM before closure on traffic came into play.  I don't know if I will ever get a chance to let her top out...if I do I will report back with the details.  She is the "perfect" car for around here.  I can fit all 5 of us in, plenty of luggage space, and the added utility of folding the seats down for odd shaped items.  With the small turn radius, and relative narrowness, it is perfect for all our day trips, or even weekend trips.  Certainly, she will be the vehicle of choice for ski trips up north to The Alps.  

For the locals, fuel is enormously expensive (1.20 Euro per liter - which equals about $5.00 per gallon...), so all the new Sport Sedans/Wagons are of the Turbo Diesel variety.  The Sport Wagon is about the most popular form of enthusiasts transportation, as it can still carry 5 passengers (or 10 if you are a local, and disregard those seat belt thingys...), and has the utility mentioned above.

The driving in the Naples, Italy area is what you think/heard it is.  However, being the disciplined aggressive V8 pilots that we are, it is easy to assimilate.  Using peripheral  vision for the car (or couple of cars...) in front of you and actually concentrating on what is going on further up the road is an absolute requirement...and allows you to judge/plan braking points, entry speeds, etc...with these very unusual (as compared to the USA...) road layouts.  Various radius curves to fit the terrain (or Roman ruin!!!) are the norm vice the exception...

...whoops...gotta get off this computer!!!  Again, hope all is well with the V8's out there, and I will try to follow up in the next few days...

Dino

1992 Audi S4 Avant (His)
2001 Chrysler Town & Country LXI (Hers)