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Re: Audi Versus Infiniti et al.
>Every so often I feel compelled to trot out an affluent brother story
>because, thanks to mine, I get to drive cars like these that he buys,
>leases or tests. His '92 Q45 had the so-called Touring suspension.
>Prior to purchase we exhaustively tested all three suspension options
>(the dealer let him borrow an interactive model overnight). My
>recollections are similar to Jeffrey's: smooth, powerful V-8 (but read on),
>decent ride, numb handling not to be mentioned in the same breath as
>Audi's.
I must admit that I found the Q45's ride to be okay, although perhaps a
teeny bit willowy by comparison (and it had new OEM shocks installed just
over 1k ago, too!). The thing that really got me was the steering feel --
or complete lack thereof -- and mushy brake pedal. Frankly, the car
reminded me of the land yachts my father used to drive when I was a kid ...
not quite that bad, obviously, but definitely of the same character. I
certainly did like the motor, though... ;^)
>The car always felt heavy, unresponsive and less-than-optimally
>balanced. Traction was appalling in anything but bone-dry conditions.
The person who owns this car lives in a house on the side of Mummy Mountain,
in one of the more ritzy parts of town ... the driveway leaves the courtyard
(with fountain, of course!) and curves up the hill and around back of the
house to the garage. It's also paved with cobblestones and in the rain,
only the Merc 600 can make it up, probably due to its traction control ...
the others spin their wheels and go nowhere. My 200q, of course, romps up
and down it at will, regardless of the weather. :^)
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/ | _| o | \ _| o Jeffrey Goggin
/__| | | / | | __ | | | | / | | audidudi@mindspring.com
/ | |_| \_| | |_/ |_| \_| | http://people.delphi.com/audidudi
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