AudiWatch Updates (Tm)

[powell@interlan.interlan.com (Glen D. Powell)]

Well, I've been advised that I have been sending my AudiWatch Updates (Tm)
to the old quattro mailing address for the past few months. Here are
the last few AudiWatch Updates (Tm) for the general enjoyment and
comments of the list.



Audiwatch Update (Tm) 2-18-92

source: March 1992 European Car Magazine

AUDI V8 QUATTRO COUPE (pg 72)
Serious work is going on in Ingolstadt preparing a new V8 Coupe. It's been
some 20 years since Audi built a big coupe, but the market seems to indicate
the room for such a luxury model. The coupe with four rings will compete first
against like models from Mercedes-Benz and BMW in Europe and the engine will
most likely be based on the V8 Quattro's 4.2-liter 280-hp V8.

We Hear... (pg 73)
Audi is planning a 450-hp 4.5-liter W12 engined luxury sedan to rival Mercedes'
600 SEL, according to German press reports. Audi denies the story, but confirms
it will begin running its W12 powerplant, unveiled in the Avus show car
(Jan '92), this spring.

Audi 50/60 in 1993? (pg 75)
Since the 80/90 range has moved upmarket, Audi is in need of a smaller model,
such as the 50 series of the past. Reflecting the current social and market
climates, such a move would be very feasible, indeed. There is talk that the
upcoming Guigiaro-designed SEAT Ibiza will fill the gap in countries where
SEAT is not represented, such as the U.S., where it will become mandatory
to offer more energy-efficient models.

-glen




Audiwatch Update (Tm) 2-19-92

source: Autoweek, 2-17-92

"Jaundiced Eye" by Leon Mandel

EVEN A JADED SHOW VETERAN FINDS PEARLS THIS YEAR

The IIIrd North American Auto Show [...] There were delectables of every sort
and kind that took my eye, many of them were cars. [...]

Avus of course. Of all supercars, this is the one with genuine character.
Ominous character, fierce and formidable character, character that glowers
across the ages. Let others claw and scratch after the megadollar Robin
Leach like counterfeit space capsules. I want an Avus. [...]

-glen (Avus Quattro--me too!)




AudiWatch Update (Tm) 5-14-92   (and other interesting & exotic tidbits)

SPYDER CRAWL
------------
Audi continues to slowly move forward with its _QUATTRO SPYDER_
conecpt it debuted last fall at the Frankfurt show. Reports from
Germany say a modified prototype is expected soon. It will be used
to decide by the end of the year if a 2500-unit production run is
warranted. Meanwhile, VW technical chief Ulrich Seiffert is rumored
to be on his way to the top post at Audi, succeeding VW chairman-
designate Ferdinand Piech.

Mercedes cuts
-------------
Daimler-Benz plans to cut 20,000 jobs over the next two years--the
first employee reduction in the company's history.....

Recall
------
Porsche is recalling 854 of its 968 coupes to repair cruise controls.
Once turned on, a component could get stuck on the back of the hood
and not allow the sruise to shut off.

Oribital Roadster
-----------------
..........Meanwhile, VW has become the fourth automaker--behind GM, Ford
and Fiat--to license the Orbital engine for in-house manufacturing. An
Orbital may inhabit the next Polo, due in '93.

Diablo Recovered
----------------
That kidnapped, one-of-a-kind Lamborghini Diablo VT 4WD has been
recovered WITHOUT ANY RANSOM being paid. Four days after it was taken
from the truck that was hauling it back from the high-speed track
at Nardo, the experimental prototype was found abandoned. The car 
was in "decent condition" but all test equipment and spare parts on
the truck, plus test equipment installed in the car, was gone.

Bushnell Please Guilty in DeLorean Motor Cars fraud case
----------------------
Former Group Lotus chairman Frederick Bushnell pleaded guilty in
Crown Court in Belfast to one count of conspiracy to defraud DeLorean
Motors Cars Ltd. He is scheduled to be sencentced June 12.

The 64-year-old Bushnell pleaded guilty to conspiring with one-time
automaker and former GM exec John Z. DeLorean and Lotus Cars founder
Colin Chapman to defraud the government-backed automaker of$17.65M US.
Bushnell stood alone against the charges because the US Government
has declined to extradite DeLorean, and Chapman died in December 1982.
.......There is a civil lawsuit in London pending against Bushnell and
Chapman's estate.....Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was
subpoenaed and earlier this year gave a deposition in that case.

Rover Sale?
-----------
The London Times reports that British automaker Rover is for sale.....
The paper also said that VW is a possible buyer. British Air currently
owns Rover.....

Engine Deal
-----------
Chrysler and Mitsubishi have inked a $1.2 Billion engine deal. Mistu
will buy US-built engines.....

Honda's Secret
--------------
The Center for Auto Safety is challengine Honda warranty practices,
charging THe automaker is trying to evade Connecticut's secret warranty
disclosure law. the CAS says Honda is labeling a known defect in the
front tire wear of 89 and 90 Honda Civics as a "goodwill adjustment"
in dealer bulletine. The adjustment should be automatically covered
under warranty, says CAS.

-glen



AudiWatch Update (Tm) 5-18-92

RECORD HUNTING
--------------
Ferrari revealed a plan to have a team of former F1 drivers including
Phil Hill, Carlos Reutermann, Mario Andretti and Niki Lauda join
celebrities like Paul Newman and Tom Cruise in driving a 195-MPH Ferrari
512 TR to challenge the around-the-world driving record.

The record of 28 days 16 hours was set in Audust 1990 by GERARD PLATTNER
and STEFAN FUISZ in an AUDI S2. Ferrari plans to beat that by six days!

_Autoweek_ 5-11-92

Lack of Carrera RS orders results in a stillborn Carrera Cup.....
PORSCHE KILLS CARRERA CUP
-------------------------
Tough economic times have "indefinitely postponed" the PORSCHE CARRERA CUP's
U.S. racing series, Porsche Cars Notrh America announced last week. The
company said lack of a series sponsor and a small field were responsible.
Porsche said it fell short of the hoped-for 20 to 25 cars for the first
race as Lime Rock. (Porsche is also doing large layoffs....., ed)

AUDI SALES UP
-------------
Audi sales are up over 50% as compared to this time last year.
The new 100CS V6 is being very well received by the US marketplace.

AUDI ALONE
----------
Soon, VW-AUDI DEALERS that sell siginificant volumes of Audis in Europe
will be FORCED TO ESTABLISH SEPARATE SHOWROOMS for the marques. The two
franchises together are not a problem when the market is growing or the 
products are fresh. But when the market is in decline or a model is in
runout, the double franchise finds dealers concentrating efforts only
on cars that have a strong demand. [don't know about Porsche-Audi, ed.]

AUDI QUATTRO GOES AUTOMAITC
---------------------------
ADDING QUATTRO TO AUDI 100 RANGE YIELDS EXPECTED TRACTIVE BENEFITS,
WHILE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION BROADENS ITS APPEAL IN MARKETPLACE
   
   In terms of value, engineering and design quality, the new Audi 100
introduced to the US sixc months ago ranks as one of the best defenses
yet made by a European automaker against the inroads forged by Japanese
makers on this country's imported luxury car market. And it just got better.
   Now the 2.8-liter V6-powered 100 range offers the anticipated Quattro
drive system AND makes it available with automatic transmission for the
first time. [except for the V8 Quattro, ed.] This combination, Audi
expects, will expand the market for its midsize sedans beyond the Audi
faithful, by making the safety margin afforded by Quattro available
to the mass market.
   Add to that the intorduction of the new-generation 100 wagon. This,
a vehicle whose previous iterations had a very limited appeal because of
the lack of an automatic, is now available ONLY as a Quattro equipped
with an automatic......
   Price for the 1992 100CS Quattro sedan is $36,400 when equipped with
five-speed (the auto is an $800 option0. The Quattro wagon, at $40,800,
not only has the automatic included, but throws in otherwise optional
treats like leater upholstry and the cold-weather package (heated seats,
door-locks, windshield washers and headlight washers) as standard too.
.....The narrow roads there [Northern Washington, ed.] all have muddy
truck-tire tracks on them. Mud that situates itself in those places where
cars most need traction; heavy braking areas, the apex of a turn, or the
exit point where you've just nailed the throttle.
   In such places, the extra margin of traction fromm full-time Quattro
drive is immeasurably valuable. It's a definition of "performance" that
goes far beyond 0-60 times.....
   All the same, in real-world circumstances on the mountain two-lanes,
the 172-HP 100CS Quattro can lay more power on the ground through its four
paws than ANY two-wheel-drive car can safely manage.
   The automatic-plus-Quattro combination sums it up well: Audi is serious
about its comeback in the US. The 100CS Quattros join the S4 and the V8 as
technologically advanced, fully-equipped and aggressively marketed
contenders in the marketplace.

VW OFFERS VALUE LEASE
---------------------
VOLKSWAGEN U.S. has BEGUN offering a LIMITED-TIME VALUE LEASE on its
sales-leading sedan. The JETTA GL Value Lease program offers Jetta GLs
with air-conditioning, auto trans and AM/FM stereo casette as standard
equipment. Terms and rates of the 48-month lease vary depending on the
down payment. Monthly payments range from $179 to $199.

BIG NUMBERS
-----------
With the addition next spring of a new plant at Martorell and with 
VW Polos rolling out of its plant at Pamplona, Spanish automaker SEAT
will have a PRODUCTION CAPACITY OF NEARLY 1 MILLION vehicles a year,
or double its current capacity.

_Autoweek_, May, 1992


Please enjoy!

-glen, 85 Quattro, 86 4000CS Quattro, 73 RA IV 455HO Firebirg GTO