Re: 36 hours with our A4 (we got it!) (semi-LONG)

[dan_masi@MENTORG.COM (Dan Masi)]

On Jan 20, 10:15am, jafo@tummy.com wrote:

> >Please, don't encourage them.    :-)
>
> Huh?  It was one of the things we liked most about our '90 90q20v.
> You just set the temp, no screwing with "hot/cold dials" trying to
> find the right temp.

I agree, it's really nice having thermostatically-controlled
temp, and dialing it in digitally is nice.  But the climate
control is the worst-engineered single piece of equipment on
the A4, IMO.  Want the compressor on for a quick defog?  Can't
have it, if it's too cold out. Want recirculated air for a minute,
while that dump truck in front of you spews out diesel exhaust?
Can't have it, unless the AC's on.  Did you manually turn down
the fan for a minute so that you could hear yourself think,
or manually adjust the air, and want to go back into AUTO mode?
Easy, just hit the AUTO button.  Of course, the compressor will
turn on in the process, so if you didn't have it on to begin
with, don't forget to turn it off.  Hey, there's three buttons
for air outlet selection: up, center, and down.  When I'm in
AUTO mode, which air vents are opened?  Not sure, since the
indicator lights only indicate vent usage when in manual mode.
And while it's a nicety that on a cold morning, the fan doesn't
start blowing until the engine warms up, they missed the graph
a bit.  I've manually turned up the fan quite a few times to
find that there was plenty of warm air to be had, the climate
control just holds out a bit long.

> >combination.  CDs are not a great media to be fumbling with
> >behind the wheel, and there's a lot of source material that isn't
>
> Like tapes are much better?  I was glad to have Evelyn there to
> change the tapes -- it can certainly be done, but I've not had
> any problems changing the CDs in my "car discman" in the RX-7,
> not drastically more than tapes...

Cassettes have a plastic shell around them, then can be manhandled
any which way.  CDs should be held by the edges, and can be scratched
be handling. Getting them out of jewel boxes with one hand is
trickier than getting a cassette out of its case.  Cassettes
aren't that easily damaged if you don't bother storing them in
the case, in fact, but CDs really need the protection of storage.
It's hard to damage a cassette.

> >available in CD (home recordings, books-on-tape, etc.)  I prefer
>
> Books on tape?  Maybe once they get "Thinking in C++" or something.
> :-)

Yeah, me too.  And I have about the same quantity of source
material as you... several hundred CDs, and a couple of tapes
of miscellaneous stuff lying around.  But I still think having
a cassette head unit offers more flexibility.

> Besides, there's NO REASON for these not being available in
> CD format.

True.  Except that they're not!

-dan