Re: 82 Coupe GT

[glen@mass.smc.com (Glen Powell)]

Yep, a witch-hunt for sure! In any case, only auto-trans 5000s were (allegedly) afflicted.

As it turned out, the "problem" was related to pedal placement. These early 5000s were purchased in
very large numbers by "older" people that were moving from big Lincolns and Caddys to an affordable
German-engineered alternative to the expensive Mercedes. Many of these drivers were used to the USA
pedal layout for auto-trans cars where you have a *HUGE* brake pedal spaced far away from the throttle.
The Audi's came with Euro-style pedal layouts, optimised for standard transmissions, and with the
appropriate "small" brake pedal located close to the throttle for heel-and-toe double-declutch 
downshifts. So what we had here were a lot of "older" drivers operating new vehicles with very
different throttle-to-brake-pedal spacing. Hit the gas -- you go!

The Audis were not the only automobiles that had this "problem". Mercedes and others had similar
incidents reported. It was only due to the tremendous success of the then-new 5000 with the "older set"
that so many more incidents were reported with the Audis.

The legend lives on..... . . . . .

-glen