[V8] In search of....

[Kneale Brownson]

An Allroad is an A6 avant on steroids.  The air suspension would be 
perfect for your variable road conditions.  You can get a V8 (with a 
timing chain) or a twin turbo V6, both of which will out perform your 
old V8.

On 2/28/2012 7:15 AM, Roger M. Woodbury wrote:
> Well,last Saturday I left here at o-dark-thirty after a nasty little four
> inches of snow and drove to Concord, New Hampshire. There in Concord as all
> good Audiphiles know, is one of the main mother lodes of Audi parts known as
> Force 5 Automotive.  I was totally unprepared for what I found there and
> thought it worth letting this list know, or at least letting anyone who
> doesn't know, what Force 5 is.
>
> The business is normally closed on Saturday but will open by appointment, so
> I made one for ten, figuring at least three and a half hours would be needed
> for the drive.  The day before I had dismounted the winter tires and wheels
> and mounted new General Altimax tires on my S4 rims on the 100CS Avant.  I
> had decided to use the Avant rather than the big Chebbie truck simply
> because I knew it would be far easier to drive the Audi than push the truck
> through what I expect to be a lot of high speed Interstate traffic. I was
> glad of the choice, and the Altimaxes were dead silent compared to the half
> worn Dunlop Graspixes on the winter rims.
>
> I got to Concord about twenty minutes early and no one was about.  That gave
> me a great opportunity to look around at all the Audi eye-candy that was
> there.
>
> Outside of the shop itself, actually a long block garage building built
> sometime in the mid 1950's perhaps, were perhaps fifty Audis of various
> types. A8's and A6's were in abundance, and I was surprised to see a lot of
> Allroads and various other recent Audi models, all with bruised noses,
> banged sides or kicked in rumps.  A LOT of current model, good condition
> parts waiting to be plucked!
>
> Then I walked across an open space toward two large trucks emblazoned with
> "Force 5" logos.  On the ramp trucks were another couple of cars, including
> one '91 twenty valve sedan that had just been picked up in Pennsylvania.
> The car was intact, I think, so virtually all of it will be recycled.
> Incidentally, the trucks themselves were all newer model Fords (I think they
> were all Ford Super Duty, perhaps 550's), and I found out later from Chris
> Semple, the owner, that they go whereever they need to go to pick up cars
> that they can recycle in this quite specialized business.
>
> Then next to where the trucks were parked was a yard that was enclosed in
> hurricane fencing.  The yard is probably an acre or a bit more, I would
> guess, and inside it jammed cheeck by jowel were Audi and VWs upon more
> Audis and VW's.  In addition across the yard I could see stacks on stacks of
> exhaust systems of various types, and who knows what else.  If it is an old
> part for a VW or Audi, it is probably there somewhere.
>
> After a while Chris Semple arrived and we did the business that I had
> traveled for.  We also chatted a lot about Force 5 and what they do. They
> can actually recycle an entire car from salvaged cars, and he told me the
> story of how he had "built" a "new" A4 for his father who had retired.  I
> didn't actually get into the shop area, but it is large, perhaps ten cars, I
> would guess, or at least close to it.  How much is parts storage and how
> much is working bays, I don't know and I didn't look through the garage door
> windows.  Maybe next time I'll get a more complete tour.
>
> So from there I rolled down to meet Ron Wainwright in Ludlow, Massachusetts.
> He had a set of BBS wheels for me, and a couple of small switches I needed.
> I really enjoyed stopping and chatting with someone I have "known" on this
> list for a long time, and I wish I could have hung around longer, but I had
> a luncheon date wtih my son and grandchildren whom I rarely see, so I pushed
> on.  (I'll be down again, Ron, when the V8 is on the road once more!).
>
> There was a lot of snow squall activity on Saturday throughout the time I
> was in Massachusetts, and only as I headed back north did it and the wind
> start to die down.  It was an interesting trip. My curiosity about Force 5
> is satisfied. I enjoyed meeting Chris Semple finally, and to see such a
> treasure trove of Audimobilia is a treat.  I doubt my insurance company will
> insure a salvaged vehicle, but it has made me think about the options that
> might be available by getting a salvage title vehicle that was salvaged
> because of the wrong reasons....often the damage to just plastic pieces is
> enough, depending on the car and the attitude of the insurance adjuster, and
> a perfectly good this or that model could be recycled for another couple of
> hundred thousand miles for pennies on a dollar.  At least that is the
> theory.  I wonder if I might find that elusive S6 Avant that I covet.....
>
> Roger
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