L.A. Auto Show

[Fringe Ryder <Fringe@ai.net>]

>Western Regional Factory Guy told me A4 1.8T manuals are on the boat,
>and will be ready FOR SALE IN LA by the END OF JANUARY.  "Interior" and
>non-coastal cities away from shipping points get them in February.

All Audis for the west coast come from Houston.  I found this out when I
ordered my A4Q 2.8L  (15-Aug-96) and tracked it until it was finished and
present at my dealer (17-Oct-96).  

>The A6 is a big A4 with more gauges.  I liked the wagons, but at 41K I
>feel a better deal can be had elsewhere (see below).  The wagon weighs
>in the ballpark of 5k lbs., and I don't feel that 172bhp is enough to
>get me around in that weight setup.

Is this a new A6, or a refined '96 A6?

>My blonde girlfriend will be getting a 328i
>convertible in the next few months, and you can say what you want, but
>she nonetheless has a masters degree and will smoke an Audi Cabriolet
>any day of the week.

My blonde girlfriend drives an '88 Sentra, smokes Camels, and hates BMWs.  I
have defended, rather than attacked, BMWs here, but they are every bit as
much status as driving machines.  The only reason I can see to buy a 318ti
(hatchback) is the label - it's uglier than a Saab, not quick, the interior
feels cheap and has the normal low-end BMW texture-and-pattern matching
problems.  A Corrado is a much much better car.  An M3 I understand, but for
anti-yuppies, BMWs are classified in the same arena of crass vain behavior
as most '80s fads such as gold chains, Rolex watches, cocaine snorting,
bleached hair gelled and moused into a dangerous but poofy bouffant, nose
jobs, and perfume on men.  That said, my car will smoke your gal's BMW on
tentative surfaces, but I wouldn't have bothered with a Quattro were I still
living in L.A.  I might have a BMW.  I love mountain driving, you see, and
not many cars do it better than a good BMW. <g>

>> The first was a silver one from a shop called Wheel Power, Inc.  The A4
had a very good looking body kit, smoked tail lenses, side markers, lowered,
H&R springs, new front air dam and grille, Remus cat-back exhaust, bigger
throttle body (their own, not Schaumburg), K&N filter and 18 INCH MAE WHEELS
(yes, 18 inch wheels). <<

What did they attribute to their larger throttle body?  BTW, European Car
(Feb 97) has an A4 with 18" wheels in it.  It's also lowered on H&R springs.

BTW, you mentioned the upcoming Volvo AWD system.  Did they say how it's
coupled?  I was surprised to learn recently that Subarus has a viscous
center differential that normally puts ALL the power up front, and can only
put half of it to the rear.  The Audi Torsen is superior, but more complex,
and Subarus do seem to perform every bit as well as Audis in the snow.  (On
the track is a different issue, but most people don't do much track
driving.)  I'm curious as to how advanced the Volvo system will be.

Thanks for putting together such a comprehensive report.

   Fringe