Re: Audi I5 to live on! (NOT!)

[Eliot Lim <eliot@u.washington.edu>]

On Mon, 5 Aug 1996, Lowell Lamb wrote:

> Sometimes I just can't help but ask a dumb question...
> 
> Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
> 
> :?
> Lowell

heh, that's not as dumb as you think.  nobody here i gather has driven
the VR5, so we can't say if it's a better engine than the I5 in terms
of smoothness,  quietness and output.

i would expect that the VR5 will never achieve the dizzy outputs
of the turbo audi 5s.

i think once again the use of the VR5 is for packaging.  we can expect
it to take up far less room than the I5 and will thus fit many more
cars in both transverse and longitudinal placement (like the new
passat).  when you make more of them, the cost per unit drops, which
in turn means lower prices for the consumer as well.  

the VR5 may well replace the aging 4 cylinder engines in the lower
end of the VW/Audi range.  i would expect the VR5 to be smoother
and quieter than the current 4 banger.


eliot