Audis versus the rest

[wmba@fox.nstn.ns.ca (W.M.Bruce Armstrong)]

I've been reading the digest for a few weeks to get familiar with it and the
players, and am glad to see how active things are.

I guess I'm an eternal optimist, in that my main personal transportation has
for over 20 years always been an Audi.  I've owned from new a '74 100LS, an
'82 Coupe, an '87 4000Q, and now a '94 90 Sport Q. I also had an '85 5K
Turbo for three months in 1988, before I bought that *new* '87 4000Q.
Couldn't stand the thing.

My philosophy has always been to keep the beasts in tip-top shape, and as
all of you know, that means money.  The reward up till now has been
superlative driving pleasure.  I put Bilsteins on the Coupe and 4000Q,
before anyone else seemed to be interested in doing something to their Audis
round here, and had the head on the Coupe flowed and Repco-ized back in '85.

The '94 90 Sport Q is a dog, however, and I would recommend that in your
future used car spending you avoid it.  The V6 has none of the sparkle of
the 5, particularly with regard to throttle response -- it has none, you
have to drive it as though it had the world's laggiest turbo.  The
suspension is a disaster, harder than it ever need be, and possessed of
demon understeer.  In fact, driving the car reminds me of conducting a bus,
complete with appropriate pitching motions.  The crowning glory is a built
in chassis vibration between 38 and 48 mph, that three sets of tires have
not cured.  No, it's not the prop shaft either.  It's spent four days being
looked at by the dealer.  Then they said there was no problem!  Just the
"buffeting" noise alone puts the lie to that.  Well, it's my fault for
leasing the silly thing, and so in only 12 more months, Ferdy can have this
sucker back.  Don't even want to tell you what else has gone wrong with it,
but the squeaks are driving me crazy.  Let me tell you, the A4 had better be
good, if Audi is to keep me in the fold!

My other car, owned from new, is a '90 Eagle Talon AWD turbo. So far, I've
replaced 3 headlight units, and trued the front rotors once (it needs it
again).  Hmm...   Eliot, you may have been disappointed driving one, but I
*love* mine, and I'm an Audi freak (well, I was until this '94).  Tried the
Corrado G60 and a 4 year old 944 back in 1990 when I got the Talon.  No
doubt in my mind, then or now.  I want AWD.  So, it's different strokes for
different folks, I guess.

Love the digest!

Bruce Armstrong
All wheel driven all the time