quattro-digest V3 #672 -Reply

[Eric Renneisen <renneie@hlthsrc.com>]

Cobram@Channel1.Com writes:

>     This seems to be one of the fringe benefits of the Audi
>     experience, no matter how bad the problem with the car,
>     it'll continue in service until you can find the parts
>     at a "reasonable" price.  I've had many things fail on the
>     Audi's but NEVER (knocking on skull) have me or mine been
>     stranded while driving one.

You ain't kiddin'!

Several years back I had an experience in an Audi I will never forget.  I
was at a party, drinking to great excess.  All I can remember is WAY too
much beer and some kind of bubbling drink that looked like one of those
from The Three Stooges with dry ice in it.  A temporary loss of judgement,
common sense, and anything remotely resembling reasoning power
caused me to try to drive myself home.  My Volkswagen Beetle was laid up
for repairs, so my father had graciously let me borrow his 4KS for the
weekend.

I ended up nose down in a three foot ditch against a brick support for
someone's driveway.  The left side of the hood was crumpled up enough to
make it hard to see over.  Still feeling senseless and stupid, I started the
car and tried to back it out onto the road.  This was a FWD car, and I will
never understand how it made it out, but it did.  I drove off without a LF tire
and some serious front end damage.

The police pulled me over several miles down the road.  About 4 or 5
squad cars had come to see the show.  As I recall the cops (except for the
one cuffing me) were all gathered around the car sharing their disbelief. 
They told me I had been going 40+ mph, throwing a huge shower of
sparks all the way.

The next morning, after I was released from the drunk tank and given a
court date, I went to see the car.  I was stunned!  The LF of the car was
completely smashed!  As you may know, the 4-cyl engine on the 4K is
almost totally on the LEFT side.  I couldn't believe that I wasn't injured in
the wreck, but even more unbelievable was that the car still ran!

The car was totaled, and I had a year of bicycle pedaling and heavy fines
to remind me of how stupid I was.  It was that experience more than any
other that sold me on Audi.  That car sacrificed it's life for me, and taught
me a _VERY_ valuable lesson.

On a related note, did anyone else see on the Today Show this morning
that the A6 topped the list in the latest gov't crash tests?

Eric Renneisen
renneie@hlthsrc.com
'90 Coupe Q
'86 4KS