Net for VW-Audi Mechanics

["Doyt W. Echelberger" <Doyt@NWOhio.com>]

Dropped in to a dealership and casually chatted with a mechanic. He was
outside on a 10 minute break. He had just returned from a few days of
briefings on the New Beetle at VW school.  He mentioned that the dealership
owner is giving him access to the company ISP account, to allow him to
search out information from 'alien' websites (like the Q-list archive)and
the type-2 website.

More significantly, they are preparing to give him internet access to the
technical specialists at VW headquarters.  They are even tooling up to do
live image communication, and the local technician will be able to point a
camera at the problem vehicle, focus in, and get a reply in real time from
the consultant.

This is big-time news to me, and it _does_ sound like at least part of the
corporate world is changing to adopt what you and I are already doing to
some degree on the net.  To me, this is very encouraging. And the mechanic
is was also very encouraged and inspired by it.

He commented that he had spent 6 hours at websites over the weekend, and
downloaded a half inch package of information on topics related to his
daily work.  Things like this are changing our world.  We even discussed a
recent Q-lister's idea of recording and transmitting  strange sounds made
by a component that was being diagnosed prior to service. That was you,
Gerard, in South Africa, on 2/27/98. We sent a "ding" test message and you
verified it. Maybe that ding will get to VW headquarters.

Stay tuned for further developments. And don't give up on believing that
Audi might eventually listen to customers. This may be the way they are
going to do it.

Doyt Echelberger
86 4kcsq
87 5kcstq