Re: Raudis

[quk@isham-research.demon.co.uk (Phil Payne)]

In message <Pine.OSF.3.95.980828124717.5055H-100000@segosf.hlo.dec.com> "G. Benedikt Rochow" writes:

> After many years, it suddenly came back to me:
> "Alle Rowdys fahren Audis."

Wow!

That brings back memories.  When I helped put a company car policy
together in Germany in 1979/1980, we trialed several cars as standard
engineer transportation.  The first one we tried was an Opel Ascona
automatic 2.0 litre.  I think we had about four.  Then we tried a
2.8 litre diesel Datsun.

After a few weeks, we had a serious management meeting about future
policy, and the support director made a remark about our own products -
if we were selling the most reliable product in the market, surely we
should be _driving_ the most reliable?

So we asked the ADAC and the AvD for their breakdown statistics.  Four
models were listed as averaging less than one incident per year - three
were Japanese and the fourth was the Audi 80S.

So I was told to go out and buy fifty Audi 80s.  More or less - they
were leased.

Not long after this decision was taken, I went to a local office
celebration in Frankfurt.  The Frankfurt branch had been trialing
the Opel Asconas, which were built in the Opel (GM) plant at
Ruesselsheim.  The engineers servicing our epuipment at that plant
complained bitterly that whenever they walked in to Opel, they were
greeted with: "Alle Rowdies fahren Audis".

I'd completely forgotten until now.  It was a big issue at the time.

Yes "RAUDI" or "RAUDY" or "ROWDY" would be one hell of a plate.

--
 Phil Payne
 Phone: 0385 302803   Fax: 01536 723021
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