Re: BMW 325ix 4 wheel drive ?

[Mikes Garage <gml2@Ra.MsState.Edu>]

On Tue, 18 Apr 1995, Robert D. Houk wrote:

> 
>    About this 325ix, I heard a lot of good things and very little bad. That 
>    could be a little bias coming from a BMW owner(535i). Witht he ix, you lose 
>    a little straight line acceleration and have more drivetrain noise than a 
>    regualr 325. I know it uses a viscous central diff -about all I know.
> 
> The only real thing I remember thinking at the time was that the system
> seemed like an afterthought kinda grafted onto the base car, and not
> "designed in", like the Audi.
> 
> 					-RDH
WHAT, an afterthought.  The Audi seemed like an forethought that never was 
developed all the way, just kidding no flames.  But the bmw is a 
excellent car and I would go as far to say it has a much better engine than
a five wor pot that Audi had to stay with because of political reasons.  
I still would like to know what you mean by 'designed in' which Audi was 
not by anymeans either.  Do you really believe that the car was on the 
drawing board and they said "hey dont forget it will be 4wd".  All but 
the newest audis were reversed engineered to accept 4wd or they would not 
have had so many differences between the cars because it would have saved 
alot of production cost for two parts where one would do.  And also Piech 
said so in a interview I read.  Think of the engines audi could have now 
if it had not been confined to the 5cyl, granted in some forms it is very 
good but not in the plain jane versions.