Finally drove a Quattro! (loooooooong...)

[Elliott Potter <epotter@abraxis.com>]

Well, fellow Q-listers, this has been a nice day indeed...

I've been getting the Q list for just under a month now, but have 
generally stayed out of discussions, mainly because I don't own a 
Quattro, and have not driven one in, oh, 10 years or so.  My current 
car is a 1993 90CS, which I like very much, except for a few problems 
which I will get to in just a moment.  Before it I had a 1985 4000S
which had just under 200K miles when I got in a particularly nasty
(yet strangely interesting) accident involving a Ford pickup, an MG
Midget, a MARTA bus, and those famous Audi pretentioners.
My current car has been kept totally stock so far because I was getting
free scheduled maintenance etc. for 3 years and didn't want to screw
that up, so I only took it to the dealer.  Anyway, it has had two
problems
consistantly since I bought it; the radio (on radio number 3 and speaker
set number 4 right now; both of those might be added to by Wednesday),
and the Air Conditioner ("Could not duplicate, no repairs made"...
AAAAAAAARRRG!!!!).  So, I took in my Audi 3 (yes, _3_) weeks ago to have 
them lookat:intermittant stalling, radio speakers inop at times, AC inop 
at times, still that damn rattle in the dash, and a squeeky steering 
wheel.  I got a call from the service advisor a week later.  Is it done 
finally?  I asked.  "Well, Mr. Potter, we had a...uh...situation with 
your car."  (pause).  "Situation?"  "Er, yes, well, we were done, and 
were taking it for a test drive, and a wheel fell out of the back of a 
truck in front of it, and your car ran over it."  (longer pause). 
"huh?  
eeeeeerrrm... situation? errrrrmmm... gee... that sounds bad..."
So it turns out that there's no big damage but the black plastic thing
where the fog lights are is broken, which, like most other parts my 
car needs, is in Germany, and they will send for it immediately.  Right.
In the meantime, I can just keep driving my complementary (free) loaner
car.  Gee thanks, I'm thinking; their complementary loaner is a '97
Ford Taurus (looks like a catfish, moves like a catfish, steers like a
cow, smells like manure, etc).  Finally, today, I get a call from the
garage; my car is finished, and oh yes, they couldn't duplicate the
radio or A/C problems.  This is just too much for me; we've documented
that it happens, I've taken it there when it happens, they've heard
the radio and seen the A/C, but don't know what in hell they're looking
at.  So I go over and while they are trying to find the paperwork, I
notice the service manager going by, so I snagged him, and mentioned
to him (very nicely, I thought) what was going on.  He agreed that it
was all very aweful, and offered that maybe he could drive my car to see
what the problems were, exactly.  For two or three days.  Then an evil
thought started forming in my mind.  "Well," I said, "why don't you at
least give me a nicer car to drive?  Maybe an A4?"  He frowned as
sluggish thoughts moiled around in the murky depths..."well, I suppose
I could look for one for you."  He grinned and walked off.  And came
back in an Arrest-me Red, black leather, 1997 A4 Quattro 2.8!
I thanked him as quickly as I could, and made off in my new prize.

My first reaction was: "wow..."
My second reaction was: "wow..."
My thoughts as I was driving home: "wow...hey!  watch where you're
going,
you moron!"
I drove around the neighborhood, playing with the neat little pop-up
cup holders, noting the outside temperature, ogling the buttons, etc.
After the "wow"'s wore off, I came up with a few gripes:

1-It's an automatic transmission, which I wanted as my current 90 and
my 4000 are/were both automatics, but this doesn't have the "sport"
DSP button.  Is that offered in another package?
2-The trunk is as big as ever, but the opening is smaller, and the
lid is harder to get open and closed.
3-No remote key-only a light.  What package has the remote key?
4-Gawd, the steering was NUMB!!!  I didn't like that much at all...
                                                       \=\
5-well, nothing else really; I kinda like it actually ;-)=)
                                                       /=/
As for the legendary Quattro handling, I haven't driven it in the rain
or snow yet since it hasn't rained or snowed since I got it about, oh,
5 hours ago.  I'm also a little wary of the numb steering and might try
to get used to it a little first before I try anything drastic.

If I have any more revelations (that are less long-winded) about it
I'll keep you posted...

Elliott