Hi guys,
Just to let you know about the situation in Europe, specifically in Holland:
Regular Unleaded also costs equiv. $1.25 here, but I assume *YOU'RE*
talking US Gallons, and *I'M* talking litres... That's about 4 times as
much as you guys pay!
...now you know why the V8 Audi never really caught on over here!
The most popular engine for Audis here is the TDI, direct injected Turbo
Diesel, because Diesel fuel only costs $0.80/litre. Drawback is the road
tax for diesels, which is about 2.5 times the already high amount you pay
for a petrol car. The Audi/VW unit is a GREAT engine, not to be compared to
the slow, noisy, weak diesels of old. It also gets wonderful fuel economy.
Also gaining in popularity here is LPG or Liquified Petroleum Gas- it
requires fitting a tank in the boot (trunk) and some mixing equipment to
the engine. Bonus: it's really cheap- about $0.35/litre. Drawbacks: road
tax x2, less miles to a tank and to the gallon, less power, costs about
$2000 to install into a car. Very popular in used cars, though, because you
don't have to pay for the equipment itself.
There's more: our kind government in all its wisdom has decided to
gradually up every cost aspect of motoring in order to increase popularity
of the public transport system. But the money gained from car taxes isn't
invested into a better public transport system- instead they privatise it
and close down some routes, making public transport even less of an
alternative!
(end of rant)
Soon to come: Audi prices in Holland (I'm REALLY jealous of you guys!)
Tom.
_______________________________________________________________________
Tom W. Nas, graphic design tnas@dtpdirect.nl
DTP Direct bv Voice +31 (55) 5 790 799
Apeldoorn, the Netherlands Fax +31 (55) 5 790 125
Q: How many surrealists does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: Two. One to hold the giraffe and the other to fill the
bathtub with brightly colored machine tools.